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This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

A UNIVERSAL SPIRITUALITY
IN PRIMITIVISM: AN ANALYSIS OF
THE ART OF JANICE GORDON

presented by

Carole Joyce Judy

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

 

 

MASTER OF ART degree in History of Art

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Ramond A . SilvermanLPh . D .

Major professor

DateNovember 19; 1993

0-7639 MS U i: an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution

 

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DATE DUE . DATE DUE DATE DUE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A UNIVERSAL SPIRITUALITY
IN PRIMITIVISM: AN ANALYSIS OF
THE ART OFJANICE GORDON

By

Carole Joyce Judy

AN ABSTRACT OF A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ART

Department of History of Art
Advisor, Raymond A. Silverman, Ph.D.

1993

ABSTRACT

A UNIVERSAL SPIRITUALITY IN PRIMITIVISM:
AN ANALYSIS OF THE ART OF JANICE GORDON

By

Carole Joyce Judy

Art historians have placed much emphasis on primitivism in
the twentieth century by discussing the presence of formal
affinities between tribal and modern art. I feel that conceptual
affinities are also present and may be closer, but have not been
investigated to the same extent.

In the following paper I propose to examine this thesis by
contrasting the spiritual forces in the work of a contemporary
Western artist, Janice Gordon, to those in African sculpture. l
review two major sources on the topic by Goldwater and Rubin,
examine critics' opinions of the 1984 MOMA Primitivism exhibition,
interview Janice Gordon, and compare her work to African art.

Janice Gordon's assemblages appear to have affinities with
African sculpture in that both deal with the transformation of
materials into a spiritual realm. I conclude that the affinities may
arise inevitably from human impulses that occur in all people and

therefore in all cultures.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of figures

Introduction

Chapter 1. An Overview of Primitivism.

Chapter 2. The Great Debate: The Criticism Continues.

Chapter 3. Janice Gordon: How an artist evolves.

Chapter 4. Interpreting Janice Gordon's Work.

Chapter 5. Janice Gordon's work and other cultures:
do affinities exist?

Appendix

Bibliography

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90

92

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Janice Gordon. 1984. Self Portrait. o/c.

Figure 2. Janice Gordon. 1989. Amy/um. 10 1/2x9 1/4x4 3/4".
Figure 3. A storage unit in Janice Gordon's studio.

Figure 4. A shelf in Janice Gordon's studio.

Figure 5. Lenore Tawney. Collage Chest.

Figure 6. A glass shelf in Lenore Tawney's studio.

Figure 7. Lenore Tawney's studio.

Figure 8. A ladder from Mall in Lenore Tawney's studio.

Figure 9. Altar (boli), Bamana, Mali, earth, organic, 18 " h.
Collection: Gilbert Marhoefer.

Figure 10. Two-headed dog, Vili, Zaire, wood, resinous mass,
metal, 13 3/4 " h. Collection: Staatliches Museum fur
volkerkunde, Munich.

Figure 11. Janice Gordon. 1991. Celestial Switchboard.
32x14 3/4 x 3 3/4 ".

Figure 12. Janice Gordon. 1992. Protect Me. 30x33".

Figure 13. Janice Gordon. 1992. Maxims and Instructions for
the Boiler Room. 16 1/2x7 1/2x2 1/2".

Figure 14. Janice Gordon. 1993. The Turquoise Shoe, J.D. series.

Figure 15. Janice Gordon. 1991 . Faith Is the Bird That Sings
in the Night. 22x29 1/2x7".

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61

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69

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72

73

Figure 16 Memory board (lukasa), Luba, Zaire, wood, beads,
metal, 13 3/8 " h. Private Collection, Washington, D.C.

Figure 17. Figure (nkisi nkondi), Kongo, Zaire, wood, metal,
33 " h. Private Collection.

77

79

Introduction

As a contemporary artist who has lived and taught in Africa, I
am particularly interested in the topic of primitivism in modern art.
In 1965 via a Ford grant I spent a year teaching art at Cuttington
College in the forests of Liberia. The experience was not only
enriching, but left me with a deep connection to the peoples of
Africa.

About a decade later I pursued an advanced degree in
printmaking and was drawn back thematically to the culture that had
left an indelible impression on my life. The mystique of African
cultures kept resurfacing. Now, once again, I find myself trying to
understand the mysteries of tribal culture and how that culture
relates to my own.

As a contemporary artist, I also have a love and knowledge of
Western contemporary art. When I entered graduate school in Art
History, I decided that I would concentrate on the two subject areas
of primary interest to me, African art and contemporary art. The
idea of primitivism in modern art was a topic that intrigued me
from the very beginning. I took seminars, researched, and wrote
papers dealing with the issue. I soon discovered the topic was
complex, highly controversial, and overwhelmingly broad in scape. I
then needed to narrow the thesis into something more focused.

While searching for a way to specify my ideas, I discovered the work
of Janice Gordon, a contemporary artist who seemed to exemplify
many affinities to traditional African art. I decided to find out why

and how by researching this artist as the basis for my thesis. Her

2
work appeared to fill a void that the readings had exposed. Most of

the discussion on affinities to tribal and modern art had
concentrated on the formal aspects rather than the conceptual. The
conceptual needed to be addressed as well. While getting to know
more about this artist's work, I ultimately realized that the
conceptual affinities between her work and tribal art were of a
universal spiritual nature. In the following paper, I propose to
elucidate the nature of those universal spiritual affinities and their
role in furthering our understanding of primitivism.

I first heard of Janice Gordon when l was visiting the
University of Michigan Museum of Art in the fall of 1992. Her
exhibition Recent Constructions was on display. As I viewed her
sculptures, I became more and more mesmerized by the works. I had
already decided to write about the broader topic of "primitivism" in
relation to modern art, and realized that Gordon's work might serve
as a way to define a more specific topic for my thesis. I began to
perceive the affinities between Gordon's work and that of tribal
cultures. At first I was not exactly sure what those affinities
were. There was an obvious similarity in the use of natural found
objects, but what else?

I eventually realized that the affinities between Gordon's art
and tribal art are both formal and conceptual. The transformation
of the physical materials into a spiritual concept occurs in both
domains and appears to arise from basic human instincts generated
by the need to communicate and survive.

A number of art historians in the last decade have discussed

and debated the tapic of primitivism in modern art. The impetus for

3
this debate was the Museum of Modern Art exhibition in 1984 called

"Primitivism" in 20th Century Art: Affinity of the Tribal and the
Modern. One of the problems that several critics had with the
exhibition concerned the idea of attributed affinities: the tendency
of some art historians, in search of innovative approaches to
comparing subjects, to imply influences that may or may not exist.
Although the MOMA exhibition was visually and academically
comprehensive, it did not encompass much research or inform the
viewer about the ethnography of the tribal cultures or their art.
The non-Western art was not discussed or considered with regard to
context. Even though context is an integral part of the end product
of any work of art, the cultures that produced these examples were
virtually ignored. The exhibition primarily dealt with aesthetics
and formal comparisons from a Western vantage point. It may be
difficult to understand other cultures so removed from one's own,
but the attempt should still be made. The implication that tribal
art is inferior or undeserving often prevails when art historians
simply try to maintain a superior or imperialistic attitude.

Despite all the negative associations traditionally connected
to tribal societies, Westerners have often deeply longed to recapture
a quality present in tribal art, a quality that seemingly dissipates in
industrialized societies. For centuries artists have been attracted
to a simpler, more basic approach to the making of art. What is the
ingredient that industrialized nations lack? Can we define it? Can
we recapture it?

Carl Jung spoke of archetypes derived from mankind's original

nature. The instinctive aspect of the human psyche is often

4
overwhelmed by the rational side. When science takes over, human

beings become disinvolved with nature. They lose their emotional
"unconscious identity" with natural phenomena and are no longer in
touch with the spiritual. Everything must have a rational
explanation. In contrast, tribal cultures deal with the unexplainable
in terms of spirits. They are comfortable with the occult. (Jung M
95)

Janice Gordon does not identify consciously with primitivism
or with any particular tribal culture, but she does admit to a sense
of longing and an element of transformation in her art that to me
very closely relate to tribal art and to its deeper, more spiritual
nature. I will attempt to show the conceptual similarities between
tribal art and Gordon's. Once the affinities are established, I will
then try to determine whether there is any direct influence or if the
impulse is independent, and perhaps indicates a universal human
attribute.

Even though the basis for the art of different cultures may
vary, the style and function of art are usually deeply seated within
its culture. In the twentieth century, commercial interests have
often provided the impetus for Western societies' art, whereas the
art of tribal societies often deals with a need to maintain social
order. More recently, content has become an impetus in Western
contemporary art as well. Janice Gordon's use of metaphor and
narrative causes her art, like much non-Western art, to exist on
many levels beyond the formal. The aesthetic is no longer its
primary raison d'étre. To realize the original meaning in any of her

work, the viewer must have a common basis of understanding and

5
pertinent information. The formal qualities are significant, but are

not the sole purpose of her art.

An affinity might be pure coincidence or the result of direct
influence. These relationships and comparisons need not lead to the
conclusion that Western art is central to all art. For centuries the
relationship of art to the past has determined its value. Other
cultures may influence the current art scene but never effect more
than minor stylistic changes. It seems that the real influence or
affinity between primitivism and contemporary art exists on a level
beyond the formalistic. It extends into the spiritual world.

Writers may ignore conceptual affinities because ideas are indirect.
It is more difficult to provide non-visual answers to the question of
why art throughout the world is similar, but it appears to be
relevant to today's thinking. Today's artists are frequently
concerned with issues, content, the spiritual, and narrative -- often
without specific references to the past. I will attempt in the
following paper to place Janice Gordon within the context of the
concepts and issues associated with the primitivism debate.

What is the connection of modern Western artists to
"primitivism"? What has already been written on the topic of
primitivism as it relates to modern art? What has the reaction
been to these writings? Can a contemporary Western artist exhibit
affinities to a non-Western culture? Are these affinities
coincidental, or only part of a collective unconscious that causes all
human beings to think in similar ways?

I will endeavor to deal with these questions in the following

chapters. In the first chapter I will set a framework for analyzing

6
Janice Gordon's work by providing an overview of writings dealing

with the t0pic of "primitivism in modern art" that pertain
specifically to issues relevant to Gordon's work. This chapter will

serve as an historical base for subsequent discussion.

Chapter 1. An Overview of Primitivism.

Primitivism often relates to tribal cultures. Unfortunately,
the word "primitive" carries with it negative connotations. For
example, one set of definitions for "primitive" includes the
following:

1. Lack of education or knowledge. ignorant, backward,
unenfightened

2. Lack of expert, careful craftsmanship. raw, rough, crude,
rude, unpolished

3. Not civilized. wild, savage, rude, barbaric, uncivilized,
uncultivated (The American Heritage Electronic Digtignary )

Obviously, the above definitions are extremely negative in
character and often bias discussion of the tribal arts.

In search of a more appropriate term, writers have found
replacements that are also often problematic. Some other terms
with equally pejorative meanings include "marginal,"

"underdeveloped," "'minority, otherness." Alternatives such as

"tribal," "indigenous, other, small-scale societies," and
"ethnographic" do not entirely escape the critical view. Likewise,
references to industrialized nations as "sophisticated," "developed,"
and "civilized" imply that the non-Western culture is inferior by
comparison. A dichotomy is set up with the terminology
exemplifying the two traditions.

It is not the purpose of this paper to discover an appropriate
term to describe these cultures. I, however, find it disturbing to

have people react so negatively to the word "primitivism," when, for

8
me, it holds a very wonderful, mysterious association. Like some

other writers (Rubin "Introduction" 74), I generally use "tribal"
rather than "primitive" to describe African, Oceanic and other non-
Western cultures. When I use "primitive" or "primitivism" it is only
in the most positive sense, as in those definitions of "primitive"
that refer to a gut-level sensitivity. I prefer to concentrate on the
definitions that I believe have been associated with the term as it
relates to art. The following are a second set of definitions that
better describe "primitive" in the context of this paper:
4. Not derived from something else. original, primary, prime
5. Of or being an irreducible element. basic, essential,
ultimate, fundamental, elementary, underlying
6. Of, existing, or occurring in a distant period. early, ancient,
primordial (The American Heritage Electronia Dictionary)
Although it is not completely possible to separate the
aesthetic from the conceptual, I will concentrate primarily on
spiritual rather than formal affinities. There are few examples of
art from any culture that do not integrally relate both, even when
the function of art becomes part of the piece. Whether the object is
meant to be pondered, sat on, or responded to, it ultimately must
involve aesthetics in order to be considered art. Western cultures
value art for its formal attributes, but many cultures do not
consider their objects as "art" even though they may have the same

qualities.

9
In this chapter I will compare Robert Goldwater's seminal book

Primitivism in Modern Art1 and the catalog for the 1984 exhibition
at New York's Museum of Modern Art, ”Primitivism" in the 20th
Century: Affinity of the Tribal and the Modern edited by William
Rubin. These two works focus on the topic of primitivism and
modern art and explore the relationship between Western and tribal
arts. It is unlikely that either author had any idea of the polemics
that their books would stimulate. Each author dealt with the topic
from his own Western perspective. The introduction written by
Rubin served as a basis for much art historical debate.2 Rubin
referred to Goldwater’s "primer" on the topic as "indispensable," but
felt a redress was long overdue. Rubin places great significance on
Picasso‘s instrumental role and his painting Les Demoiselles
d'Avignon, which opened the door to the inclusion of African art
within modern. The painting was not discovered until after
Goldwater's book was first published.

I primarily am interested in how their discussions provide a
backdrop for issues that Janice Gordon examines in her work and
how she can be viewed as part of the larger picture. Does she fit
into the historic framework of "primitivism in modern art"?

Goldwater's book describes the art of Europe from the late
ninteenth through the first half of the twentieth century. He

discusses various artists and groups that felt an attraction to the

 

1 William Goldwater's Primitivism in Modern Painting was published in 1938. Later
be revised and amplified it to be published in 1967 under a new title, Primitivism in
Modern Art (New York: Random House, Vintage Books).

2 In Chapter 2 I discuss several of the articles that were a reaction to the exhibit. They
criticize a number of issues but mainly lack of context and documentation of the tribal
that resulted in unfounded affinities.

10
art of non-Western cultures, primarily Africa and Oceania. Since

the relationships Goldwater describes are mostly conceptual, they
are closer to the affinities present in my thesis. The content is
comprehensive on the topic and his conclusions seem in the final
analysis to be definitive.

Rubin, Director of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of
Modern Art, co-directed the exhibit with Kirk Varnedoe and edited
its catalog. The exhaustive exhibition and the catalog were
impressive. The catalog was important as a learned publication
with essays by fifteen scholars, including lengthy essays from Rubin
and Varnedoe. The book is impressive in size, selection of authors,
and aesthetically. It contains over one thousand illustrations with
378 in color. It does not, however, offer much that is new on the
subject of where the true affinities between tribal art and modern
art lie.

In Rubin's introduction, he states that the purpose of the
exhibition was to try "to understand Primitive sculptures in terms
of the Western context in which modern artists 'discovered' them."
(1) Not totally pleased with the negative connotations of the term
"primitivism," Rubin usually chose to substitute the word "tribal."

Conversely, Goldwater concludes his book and findings with his
definition of primitivism. He compiles his findings as traits
common to all the groups of artists he discusses. He divides them
into two general types: those dealing with "internal psychological
factors" related to the human experience and those involving the
elements of formal stylistic discernment. (255) The primitive (or

tribal) can influence primitivism, but its characteristics may be

11
instincts common to all mankind. This supports my thesis of

primitivism as a universal impulse. Even though there may
sometimes be direct borrowings, the two can also exist separately
and exclusively. (271)

As he discusses the various historical interpretations, Rubin
shows a shift from a wider scope to one directed toward objects.
The increase in artists (e.g., Picasso, Brancusi, Matisse, Derain,
Vlaminck) as collectors of tribal objects generated this trend.
Their acquisitions were not always the best examples in terms of
quality or representativeness of the tribal. However, as Picasso
noted in the now famous quote repeated by Rubin, "You don't need the
masterpiece to get the idea." (Rubin "Introduction" 14) Rubin
criticizes Goldwater's conservative views3 in regard to direct
formal influence.

Although the affinities Goldwater discussed were mostly
conceptual, he did point out a number of stylistic similarities that
he saw as tribal influences on the changing European art scene.

The first half of Goldwater's book deals primarily with the indirect
influence of tribal cultures, which the artists he writes about seem
to acknowledge freely. In his discussion of direct influence,
however, the artists such as Picasso and Brancusi deny that they
borrow from the primitive. (144) The denial seems to stem from
the artists' fear of appearing to lack originality. Even though their

art differed in important respects from the tribal, most artists

 

3 Goldwater puts less emphasis on direct influence of "primitive forms." He stressed
the tribal effect on the psychological and conceptual.

12
would not admit any direct copying. It is doubtful that the artists

would object to the attribution of conceptual affinities, however.

The types of influence Rubin discusses are invisible, direct,
and speculative affinities. Artists rarely admitted direct
influences, but instead they incorporated them into a modern format
where they often became "invisible." An artist would consciously or
unconsciously assimilate the tribal objects he had viewed into an
unrecognizable rendition through reinterpretation. (Rubin
"Introduction" 18) Rubin refines and updates the ideas previously
established by Goldwater, but Rubin concentrates on the formal
qualities.

Because the artists of both Western and tribal traditions
might never encounter each other or their art, an affinity might not
always imply an influence. An affinity may just suggest attributes
that are similar but not derivative. Artists of all generations and
other cultures may feel an "aesthetic impulse" that has little to do
with their background or training. The works may resemble each
other stylistically but be far apart in meaning. (Rubin "Introduction"
28)

Speculative affinities came about because of the poor
examples of tribal art assembled by the dealers and collectors.
These representations caused artists to misinterpret meanings and
produce "creative misreadings." Modern artists who have come in
contact with tribal art often hypothesize affinities for which they
have little documentation. They interpret these objects as they
please. (Rubin "Introduction" 32) Whether stylistic or conceptual

interpretations, the similarities may have little to do with the

13
original artist's intent. With these misinterpretations comes the

flaw of "negative selection." That is, a modern artist may not
realize that a tribal object is a poor example or a copy of an
original, or is nonrepresentative, because it is all that is available.
(Rubin "Introduction" 21)

Rubin finds affinities in ritual rather than narratives. The
African art leans more toward ritual, the "iconic," and the abstract.
Oceanic art depends more heavily on narrative and myth for its
expression. A Modernist parallel is seen in the affinities between
Surrealism and Oceanic art, and in the Cubist affinities to African
art. (Rubin "Introduction" 55) Gordon's art contains ritual, narrative
and myth.

Rubin ends his introductory chapter by stating that he feels
the exhibition and catalog will help Western cultures become more
familiar with "masterpieces from other cultures" and achieve a
better understanding of humanity. They will make the Westerner
aware of similarities or affinities that previously were unknown.
Art can be the way to bring cultures closer together. (73) In my
opinion, however, it is doubtful that any culture couldgain much
knowledge or understanding of another from an exhibit with so little
investigation of cultural context. A comprehensive explanation
must also include comparison of the reasons for the art and its
universal impulse.

Historically, primitivism became a current in European art in
the late nineteenth century. Goldwater found a number of reasons
for the Europeans‘ interest in and attraction to the previously little

known tribal art, especially as an art form. Formerly, because of

14
Darwin's theory of human evolution in which the "savage was

considered its lowest form," ethnographic museums had been the
only venue for viewing tribal objects. (Goldwater 25). As a result
of colonization, European museums began to fill with large
collections of tribal art. A scientific anthropological perspective
was the primary criterion for looking at tribal sculpture. Later,
artists of the Modern period began to examine these objects as art
forms in terms of both style and creative impulse.

During the nineteenth century, much of the appeal of the exotic
was that it represented a return to a simpler way of life. There
was also a desire to return to the past, to the original. At the
beginning of the century, the Barbus 4 saw the pre-Greek era as the
most basic. They valued the primitive as representative of the
original, even though their art did not reflect it.

During the Romantic period, there was an interest in the exotic
as geographically distant. Delacroix and Ingres both dealt with the
Islamic East and dramatic scenery. Their interest was a return to
the 'Biblical past.‘ (Goldwater 52) The curiosity about an unfamiliar
place, along with religious and historical interest, prompted their

use of "Oriental" subjects.5

 

4 The Barbus were also known as Les Primitifs, Les Medita tears, and Les Penseurs.
They were a rebellious group of French artists who formed a colony from1800-1803.
The group initially were composed of students of Jacques-Louis David at the Louvre.
They broke from his atelier in favor of a purer form of art. Donning beards and cloaks
and living in a deserted convent alienated them from society. The setting provided them a
meditative escape from the technological reminders of the modern world. See George
Levitine, The Dawn of Bohemianism: the Barbus Rebellion and Primitivism in
Neoclassical France (University Park,1978) p.69.

5 Orientalism was on a parallel with primitivism -it was an escape from the
industrialized world. It was a romantic view of an area alien to "civilized" Europe and
the United States. There was renewed interest in the nineteenth century in the Eastern
cultures due to newly established trade routes. The art of the Orient provided a culture
unlike that of Emma It was about a people different from themselves.

15
Gauguin, however, epitomized the movement to recapture the

essence of tribal cultures when in 1891 he chose to leave the
industrialized world to live among the Tahitians. Gauguin had a
romantic view of how and why he would assimilate his surroundings.
We know that total transformation never took place for him, nor was
it automatic. Direct contact could not change his psyche or his
past. Instead, Gauguin borrowed tribal motifs and decorative
elements, but could never totally erase his former life to become
spiritually enmeshed in another culture. The simplicity of nature
that Gauguin sought was less attainable than he hoped. He was
unable to dismiss his dependence on Paris either financially or
artistically. Gauguin identified himself as a "barbarian" both in life
and art. He felt that art and life should be connected. (Goldwater
64) He rejected the Parisian art scene, as he was rejected by it.
His work was viewed as being flat and distorted, his lifestyle
barbaric. Even though Gauguin left Parisian society to seek
happiness, frustration characterized his existence with the Tahitian
people.

Ironically, Gauguin infused his work with the same religious
elements that he denounced. Before he left Europe, moved by the
religious devotion of the provincial Bretons, Gauguin took their
lifestyle as a subject for his paintings. In The Yellow Christ, 1889,
he exemplifies the simplicity of the peasants and comes close to the
primitivism he was later seeking in other lands. Unfortunately, he
did not recognize it there. All the qualities Gauguin thought he
would find in a primitive culture already existed right before his

eyes. While adopting the formal flatness and decorative

16
characteristics of the Japanese print, Gauguin's synthetic art was

seeking the essential truths of the universe by combining symbols
with raw emotions. The essences of human experience became the
basis for his work. (Goldwater 81)

In his essay on Gauguin in Primitivism, Kirk Varnedoe
describes him as having provided the earliest connections between
primitivism and modernism. Gauguin was the first example of a
modern European artist who lived primitivism, or at least attempted
to. The nineteenth-century artists had a more romantic outlook, and
Gauguin wished to escape to a world removed from the artificial
aristocratic society he had inherited. He based his view of the
South Seas on "experience, research, and speculation." (190)
Gauguin rejected the nature-based, origin-oriented ideas
(naturalism and Darwinism) of the nineteenth century. Instead, he
tried to adopt the ethos of the Tahitians to reflect the idea of
primitivism as a positive instinct inherent in all mankind. A
corrupt, overdeveloped culture such as his own often lost sight of
this quality. He sought to combine a variety of sources and ideas to
make use of his complex intellect. He would blend body and spirit,
mind and senses. Much of his thinking was contradictory and
ambivalent. He admired both the simple and the complex. His work
was full of both religious symbolism and sexual references. He
merged the physical and the metaphysical. In his Spirit of the Dead
Watching, 1892, Gauguin presents obvious Polynesian references and
the deeper underlying symbolism, allowing a number of possible
interpretations. Here, the figure of a Tahitian girl and the figure of

death behind her interact in an unclear association. Each appears to

17
be aware of the other, but the relationship between the two is

undefined. Gauguin's art connects the mind and spirit, the rational
and irrational, science and aesthetics. Although his art and life
were unfulfilling and frustrating to him in regard to experiencing
primitivism first-hand, Gauguin did lay the groundwork for later
affinities between the tribal and the modern. He caused artists to
take a closer look at other cultures that had formerly been
disregarded and examine what they might contribute. They
recognized that the affinity to the spiritual that characterized
tribal cultures was disappearing in the rational scientific world.

As exposure to African and Oceanic art increased in Europe,
artists found affinities to the tribal that were more emotional and
psychological. More than fifty years ago, Goldwater identified the
spiritual aspect of primitivism as an instinctive affinity. Many
artists of the post-Impressionist period dealt with subjects that
symbolized the basic emotions of life at a gut level. Odilon Redon
portrayed dream forms that had a deep psychological significance.
(Goldwater 57). The feelings portrayed in German Expressionism, as
represented by Edvard Munch's The Scream, 1893, combined
symbolism and spirit with exaggeration of both. The painting
captured the nature of feeling in its barest form. _

The Germans came in contact with both African and Oceanic
art and immediately noticed their artistic value. The high level of
quality, and the immediacy and intensity present in the so-called

primitive works, impressed the artists of the Brticke (Bridge)

18
group.6 The artists of the Briicke dealt with raw violent emotion to

express the personal social aspect of human character and conduct.

Like Gauguin, Nolde, one of the Briicke artists, sought to
experience the "primitive" firsthand by traveling to New Guinea.
However, Nolde did not merely copy motifs but waited until he got
back to Germany to incorporate and interpret the essence of the
primitive. Nolde painted a number of paintings of Masks, 1911-
1920, that retain the general feeling of tribal art but are too far
from exact representation to be classified with any particular group.
His landscapes capture a tropical approach to nature with an
emotional connection. Nolde said he was trying to show the inner
strength of expression. (Goldwater 116) The simplistic cruder
style expressed a deeper level of the personal than was possible
with a refined exterior representation.

Donald Gordon's essay, "German Expressionism," in the
"Primitivism" catalog, discusses Nolde's Still Life with Masks I,
1911. Nolde uses identifiable images from several tribal cultures
in the same painting. Gordon concludes that Nolde combined the
direct influence of specific tribal objects and their emotional
impact. Because of the pronounced similarity of facial features to
the tribal masks Nolde was familiar with, Gordon feels that the
"emotional intensity" cannot exist without "caricature" but is
directly evolved from it. Specific tribal sources are sometimes
recognizable, and at other times are only feelings. The derivative

expression on the masks conveys the emotional quality of the work.

 

6The Brilcke group was a German Expressionist group formed in Dresden in 1905. It
stressed ”immediacy and authenticity."(Gordon, D., p.371)

19
Therefore the affinities between the tribal and the Western are both

direct and indirect. (380)

Another group in Germany, the Blaue Reiter, was founded in
1911 by Kandinsky. Through their wider exposure and more complex
portrayal of primitive art, the Blaue Reiter found affinities in the
spiritual and mystical part of human experience. Kandinsky felt he
shared with tribal peoples his inner feelings rather than the
external appearance of his art. Tribal artists related to their
environment, just as contemporary artists related to their own
experience. (Goldwater 129) Kandinsky's paintings were non-
objective, and the intellectualizing of formal affinities continued in
the abstract works of the Suprematists in 1914. This group
eliminated subject matter and concentrated on pure shape and color
as a universal language. Malevich was the group's primary
proponent. He believed in the simplest, purest truth as expressed in
a reduced geometric form.

Stylistically, another example of reduced geometric form was
found in Cubism. It related to the geometric and monochromatic
nature of African sculpture. In the later phase of Cubism, Picasso
and Braque expressed another affinity between the tribal and modern
by using collage and assemblage with found objects.

Some of Picasso's understanding of African art is evident in
his 1907 Demoiselles d'Avignon, and other works from this period.
The formal affinities are revealed in his blocky bodies, concave
faces, abstraction, surface pattern, reduction, simplification and
frontal poses. Likewise, he felt strong emotional and conceptual

affinities of "magical" power that he tried to transmit in his own

20
work. Picasso was conscious of a direct connection to the African

spirituality, but he did not realize that the same spirituality might
be basic to all mankind.

Rubin's contribution on Picasso in Primitivism presents him as
the primary example of an artist who was influenced by tribal art.
Picasso was an avid collector of African and Oceanic art and much of
his work shows strong reference to it. By surrounding himself with
tribal objects, he allowed them to enter his psyche and become part
of his visual vocabulary. Picasso disclaimed any direct influence
but did not deny the affinities present as a result of his knowledge
of the principles of African art.

For example, in Demoiselles d'Avignon the two figures on the
right closely resemble African sculpture. Picasso changed this
painting from narrative to iconic (frontal, compressed, abstract)
after he viewed African art for the first time at the Trocadero in
1907.7 The painting changed from a realistic portrayal illustrating
his repugnance toward the women of the bordellos to an abstraction
of female figures with references to African masks. The Trocadero
experience made such a positive impact on him that it is not
surprising that his art changed as well, but Picasso denied that the
influence ever became a conscious imitation.

There were several misconceptions about Demoiselles
regarding it as representative of Cubism. It was actually a prelude
to Cubism as it indicates the development from the visual to the

conceptual portrayal of form, with the reduction and abstraction of

 

7 The Musée d'Ethnographie du Trocadero (now Musée de L'Homme) in Paris opened to
the public in 1882. Here Picasso was overwhelmed by his first exposure to large
collections of African and Oceanic art.

21
features into geometric shapes. (Rubin "Picasso" 253) Picasso's

later three-dimensional construction Guitar, 1912, more closely
resembles the Cubistic geometric principles related to African art.

Goldwater discusses another conceptual affinity, the
subconscious as found in Surrealism. The Surrealists were
concerned with human nature as revealed in psychology. The inner
inspiration was a feeling experienced by all humanity. Although
more scientifically based than the other groups, it dealt with
dreams and intuition -- the inventive imagination. (Goldwater 222)

Evan Maurer further discusses Surrealism in his chapter in
Primitivism. This movement was begun in the 1920's by a group of
French writers and poets, whose interests included psychology,
philosophy, anthropology, and politics. The artists concentrated on
dreams, the unconscious, and the need for myth. In exploration of
these areas, the Surrealists investigated the writings of Sir James
Frazer, Sigmund Freud, Lucien Levy-Bruhl and Henri Bergson. Frazer
theorized that all cultures experience basic common thoughts which
can be found in their mythologies. (541)

Both Frazer and Levy-Bruhl wrote about animism and
totemism. They believed that everything in nature is connected to a
spiritual force. A particular spirit or soul guides each plant and
animal. Freud carried the idea one step further into the
psychoanalysis of dreams. Feelings could be revealed in dreams in a
metaphoric form. Art could express these forms symbolically.
(Maurer 543) As Gauguin had found allegoric similarities between
the tribal and the modern at a deeper spiritual level, so did the

Surrealists. The symbols transformed the intangible into the

22
perceptual. Along with these conceptual connections, the

Surrealists used polychromatic color schemes and curvilinear forms
that showed stylistic affinities primarily with Oceanic art.

The Surrealist Max Ernst's extensive use of totems in his
paintings and sculpture caused some people, including himself, to
think of him as a shaman. Even though Ernst's work was produced in
the mid-twentieth century, scholars had written much on the topic
of shamans since the 18805. (Maurer 566) Shamans were said to
embody supernatural powers that allowed them to act as healers and
interpreters. Spirits revealed to them in a dream assisted them in
communicating their message to others.

In "Abstract Expressionism," Varnedoe's chapter in
Primitivism, he writes about the continued use of totems and
shamans in American art. By 1940 American artists were pulling
away from the formal trends of Europe and moving toward the
spiritual universal ideas of the Modern. They wanted something
unlike the Surrealists' use of Freud's view of the unconscious, which
they found too elaborate and synthetic. They preferred the
collective approach of the tribal, which incorporated innate
tendencies involved with emotions. (619)

In the American artists' continuing quest to obtain a
distinctiveness from Europe and to develop a national identity, they
began to examine Native American objects. The Native American
pictographs and symbols, along with myth and ritual, supplied
artists with new imagery. Adolph Gottlieb's use of signs that
referred to man's association with the earliest forms of writing

exemplified human evolution (the interpretation of modernists that

23
erroneously associated primitive with an earlier stage of evolution

and man's beginnings, especially regarding the origins of creativity).
Mark Rothko's interest in the spiritual unconscious incorporated
ritual and inner expression, as his visually reductive imagery
reflected the less identifiable sensory experiences of human beings.

The art of the forties continued to include ties to primitivism.
The painters of this period involved the distant past and its origins.
Their theories were not unlike those of more recent artists, as
Varnedoe discussed in the last chapter of the Primitivism catalog,
"Contemporary Explorations." The American artist who most
exemplified Abstract Expressionism was Jackson Pollock, who
became so involved with the spiritual and ritualistic that he
assumed the role of shaman.8 Pollock's study of psychology
combined an inner personal expression with the magic of tribal
signs. As he moved from the symbolic sexual and fertility imagery
of the Northwest Indians to non-objective representation, Pollock
developed a more personal style directed entirely by his inner soul
and subconscious mind. He threw and poured paint onto large
canvases as he dealt with energy, freedom and scale. These "action
paintings" were generated by his inner soul and the instinctive,
universal aspects of human nature.

Since the late 1960's, the affinity of modern Western art and
tribal art has been mostly conceptual. Western art today deals with
ideas rather than objects and allows numerous interpretations. The

artists of this period have rejected Abstract Expressionism and the

 

8 Pollock's art explored the unconscious and the primitive, especially Native American
myth and iconography. He was considered a spiritual leader or shaman of the American
artists of the forties.(Vamedoe, p. 640)

24
technical age, and embraced an aesthetic that depicts nature and the

universe. Earthworks of the 1970's were a blend of science and
senses, and time and space. Artists active in this group were
concerned with decay, tactile surfaces, survival, prehistory, and the
monumental. There was a sense of relating the earth and the
heavens by giving them a sense of order. (Varnedoe "Contemporary"
666) Michelle Stuart's fascination with materials took the form of
using natural objects to connect her art to the past. Non-Earthwork
artists of the period such as Eva Hesse and Jackie Winsor treated
materials in a repetitive ritualistic manner. Nancy Graves' Totem,
1970, combined fabrics and animal skins in a shamanistic way.9
Another shaman-artist10 of this time was Joseph Beuys, who
worked with metaphoric myth and ritual to create art as
performance. He acted as the vehicle for transforming ancient
historical practices into contemporary drama. Beuys' art, like much
other art since the 1960's, was highly political. The world was in a
state of upheaval and dissatisfaction. Beuys and others reacted to
the immorality of war and oppression. Tribal art received more
attention because of a belief in the greater "purity" of the primitive.
The work of Janice Gordon also draws on the various
traditions. Her work involves the psychology of human nature. She
displays her knowledge of Jung with topics of human relationships

and their solutions. Gordon's art combines the psychology and

 

9 Graves sought to link man's sense of order of prehistoric times with contemporary
exploration of science. She felt the more that is investigated and discovered, the more
man's relationship with nature is intensified. (Varnedoe, 679)

10 Much has been written lately on shamanistic practice in art, see Thomas McEvilley,
"Art in the Dark," Artforum, Summer 1983. See also "Stones, Bones, and Skin Ritual
and Shamanistic Art," a special issue of Artscanada, December 1973/January 1974.

25
allegory of the Surrealists with the universal emotion of the

Abstract Expressionists. Her use of metaphoric myth, symbols,
ritual and tactile natural materials tie her work to that of
contemporary Western artists.

Now revered and valued as an art form by Western artists,
tribal art should not overshadow Western art. Varnedoe makes a
point of asserting that the tribal and the Western are equally viable,
and notes that some followings of the primitive are merely trendy
and cultish. Instead, the exposure to other cultures should have as
its end a broadening and acceptance of a worldwide understanding
and an opportunity for a new language of expression. (Varnedoe
"Contemporary" 682)

As a beginning to this process, Goldwater's and Rubin's books
have both opened our eyes to viewing other cultures by generating
much praise and criticism. In the next chapter, I will discuss some
of the reactions to the 1984 MOMA exhibit and catalog Primitivism.
If the exhibition and catalog had been less ambitious and had not
involved such an impressive array of scholars, they might not have
caused such a stir. Now, almost a decade later, art historians

continue to debate issues raised by the exhibition and its catalog.

Chapter 2. The Great Debate: The Criticism Continues.

Since the celebrated 1984 exhibition at the Museum of Modern
Art in New York City, numerous articles have debated a variety of
issues raised by the show.11 These issues deal with several aspects
of how Western and non-Western (tribal) art might be compared or
exhibited. Is it possible to discuss both types of art on the same
plane? If so, did this exhibit and catalog succeed in effectively
making connections between the two? Most critics feel that the
affinities brought out in the exhibit were unfounded or improperly
focused. In this chapter I will discuss the faults a few
representative critics perceived in the show. Many found the
exhibition offensive to tribal cultures and deficient in
documentation. They feared that it misrepresented tribal art and
was detrimental to its perception.

Just what was the motivation behind the exhibit? James
Clifford wrote a lengthy article at the outset of the show and later a
book that further argued the same topics.12 In the article, Clifford
points out that Western hegemony heavily affects the manner of
acquisition and presentation of tribal objects. Formerly, these
objects had received little attention as art because of the ways they

had been procured during colonization and their ethnographic

 

11Some reviews of the exhibition and its catalog praised its depth and scope as
intellectual and thought provoking, but most did so with some reservations. The
reference to "blockbuster" show refers primarily to its impressive size. See Barbara
Rose's interview with Rubin, "The Man From MOMA," Vogue August, 1984. See also Kay
Larson's review of the Primitivism exhibition " ’Primitivism' at MOMA," New York
September 17, 1984.

‘2 Clifford's article is later included as a chapter in his book, see "Histories of the
Tribal and the Modern," Art in America April 1985 and see also Predicament of Culture
(Cambridge, 1988).

26

27
reclassification. The tribal objects had not been purchased as art,

but rather as booty and trophies. In the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries when Europeans began to gain world power, they
unethically conquered many tribal nations for territorial dominion.
Why suddenly reconsider these objects? For whose benefit? Using
what criteria?

Clifford points out that the affinities were not discussed for
ethnographic or even historical reasons. Rather, he suggests that
the motives were more "celebration" than "critical examination."
(Clifford "Histories" 169) Clifford further takes exception to
Rubin's statement that he was not knowledgeable about these peoples
nor was that the intent of the exhibit. This should not excuse the
show's lack of cultural context. Clifford, along with many other
scholars, feels that ignorance is no defense and that Rubin was not
willing to consider anything beyond his own interests. (Clifford
"Histories" 171)

If Rubin wished to present examples from the viewpoint of his
own aesthetics, then why was he not willing to consult with artists
from the tribal cultures? Rubin claims an interest in other cultures
but still insists on evaluating them from his own perspective. There
is no attempt to capture the criteria of the people who created the
art; as Clifford sees it, Rubin represents a biased point of view.
Although the tribal art was presented in an art setting rather than an
ethnographic museum, no specifics, such as artist, date, place of
origin, or purpose were mentioned on the tribal examples. What
purported to be an elevation of the tribal art and cultures was really

a total disregard for the people who produced the objects. MOMA did

28
not consider any African criteria for producing art, but instead

imposed their own standards and associations related to Western
Modern art and not necessarily applicable to this exhibit.

With respect to collecting the objects, Clifford questions what
criterion MOMA or the collectors used? How did they determine the
value of the art? A piece of art once valued for its religious power
loses that meaning in the museum setting. Collectors may search to
recapture the same inner experience that the object originally
conveyed, but are of course unable to when its original context is
absent. So, museums then set their own criteria and reclassify
according to their own systems. (Clifford Predicament 220) Janice
Gordon finds the museum setting an inadequate venue for her art
because of the viewer's inability to interact with the object.

In the "Contemporary Explorations" section of the exhibition,
Varnedoe refers to conceptual affinities, but to Clifford the
references only create chaos and confusion. He feels that Varnedoe
cites these qualities only to promote Western ego and that they
obscure historical continuity and overload the viewer with ideas that
are not specific to any related culture. (Clifford "Histories" 176)
Clifford writes that it would have been more appropriate to show
how the modern tribal cultures are ingesting and syncretizing
Western culture into their current art. Varnedoe gives few examples
of either tribal or Western art of the 1980's.

From the early twentieth century, European artists proceeded
carefully in absorbing the tribal. Rubin believes that "elective
affinities" occurred at a time when society was ready to accept

them. There had been a gradual infiltration of non-Western art into

29
Europe during the nineteenth century, which better prepared it to

receive the tribal. McEvilley asserts that MOMA mindfully selected
both terminology and the timing of the exhibit to promote the
"Modernist esthetic."l3 ("Doctor" 57) He also finds the term
"affinity" presumptuous, having little legitimacy other than having
been formerly used by Goldwater. When Rubin juxtaposes a modern
object with a tribal one to which it has formerly had no relationship,
it is only his desire that puts it in the affinity category. McEvilley
points out that the popularity and appeal of primitivism had very
little connection to the actual affinities between the tribal and the
modern. Most of the similarities were purely coincidental and
unplanned. However, because the tie-in would create a receptive
audience, MOMA suggested affinities between the two. Self-
promotion was the primary reason for the comparisons. Certainly,
there was little research to advance the cause of tribal art.
(McEvilley "Doctor" 60)

Hilton Kramer, an advocate of conservative Modernism, felt
more attention should have be placed on the bourgeois and how it
related to the idea of primitivism. Why did technologically advanced
cultures always revolt and seek to return to the ways of the
primitive? Kramer asserts that they were enraptured by the idea of
a simpler, more basic type of life. He is offended by Rubin's always
punctuating the term "primitivism" with quotation marks, as he does
in the title, to indicate that it belongs to someone else. Kramer

sees Rubin's distinction of the term as pejorative, since he uses the

 

13McEvilley feels that the Modern esthetics of "freedom, innocence, universality, and
objective value" are criteria for promoting the connection between primitive and
modern.

3O
term only for comparison and never identifies with it. Rubin places

himself above and disassociates himself (the museum) from
primitivism and the art of tribal cultures. (Kramer "Conundrum" 7)

In his earlier critique of the 1982 opening of the Michael C.
Rockefeller wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Kramer notes
that Westerners have elevated tribal art by rescuing14 it and
promoting it aesthetically. (Kramer "High Art" 61) But, he then adds,
that is the only way one culture can evaluate another. How can one
culture truly know the other or the impetus behind it without living
it? (62) While Kramer felt MOMA choreographed the Primitivism
exhibit to put Modernism in a superior light, others felt that the
objects chosen for the exhibit favored the tribal.

Primitivism is difficult to define and interpret. Why was the
MOMA exhibit in 1984 only able to reflect its own Western
viewpoint? An article by Rasheed Araeen in Hiller's Myth of
Primitivism discusses the imperialistic and racist aspect of the
show. The exhibit and catalog showed no interest in promoting any
culture other than that which reflected Western Modernism. (164)
The selectors of the objects from other cultures did not consult the
people who created them or investigate their ability or knowledge.
Instead the tribal objects coalesce into all-encompassing categories
designated by the directors of the exhibit. The museum designed

these categories to defend its own agenda. (165)

 

‘4 I do not agree that we have necessarily "rescued" these objects, because we often
acquired them by immoral methods. I do agree that it is difficult to understand fully
another culture's motivation or creative impulses. This should not prevent us from
respecting another culture and trying to get the information that would enable us to
understand it.

31
Another issue raised by the MOMA exhibit was the emic/etic

question of whether or not the museum presented itself as an
outsider or as knowledgeable about other cultures. The emic (inside)
view of tribal art would present positions that were based on
ethnographic research. Thomas McEvilley objected to Rubin's
insistence that MOMA would not take the role of emic observer, but
then proceeded to speculate on tribal intent. ("Doctor" 58) How can
anyone presume to understand a culture so different from their own
without first doing extensive research? McEvilley thinks art
historians should stay in their own territory with their own
particular methods of analysis, if they repeatedly announce that is
their purpose. Instead, along with a Western etic analysis of formal
similarities, Rubin hypothesizes affinities of spirit when he has no
knowledge about what the tribal consciousness might be. As I have
stated in my thesis, the spiritual affinities may be universally
present, in which case tribal intent is irrelevant.

Another offshoot of the emic/etic question is the idea of
multiculturalism. Under the guise of promoting multiculturalism is
often hidden a racist outlook, a more separatist attitude, especially
when it comes from the authority of the institution. (Araeen 172) It
includes the "different," but not always with equal status. It is
often a patronizing attitude that creates a divisive rather than a
global outlook. The token inclusion of the tribal precludes its full
participation or status. Art history remains without full
representation of the "other." (Araeen 181)

Arthur Danto finds the affinities in the MOMA show not only

exaggerated, but detrimental. In his scathing article "Defective

32
Affinities," Danto finds little basis for the exhaustive exhibit at the

MOMA. Although MOMA admitted in the brochure accompanying the
exhibition that the affinities were mostly stylistic and were not
based on any former relationship, the show seemed based on the
premise of affinities. Danto takes issue with the placing of tribal
art in an art museum setting. He argues that any comparison or
explanation of these objects should only be in terms of their magical
power or significance. Tribal objects out of context, as aesthetic as
they might be, are far removed from their real function. Tribal
objects need to be a vehicle with which others interact. The
observer has no exchange with the parties involved in their making.
The objects are not "art" in the Western sense of the word.

While the exhibition claimed to be concerned with more than
pure aesthetics, its curators had a hard time defining and backing its
ideas. Hilton Kramer found the exhibit unable to fulfill its intention
of dealing with affinities of ideas. He admits that the catalog is
scholarly, but finds the exhibition to give little more than lip service
to any ideas it might bring up, because of the museum setting format.
Not only is the time too brief for the viewer to conceive any
Opinions, but the meanings are predefined and stated on the labels,
leaving no room for speculation. Kramer feels that the MOMA show
was a poor representation of what the catalog set out to do. (Kramer
"Conundrum" 2) Janice Gordon, on the other hand, prepared a video to
accompany her exhibition Recent Constructions in order to
compensate for the lack of interaction in a museum setting and to
allow the viewer more opportunity to experience her work on another

level.

33
Danto suggests that MOMA might have succeeded in explaining

the affinities between tribal and modern objects by digging deeper
into why modern artists who were collectors found reasons to react
to and reinterpret tribal art. What exactly was the real reason for
incorporating tribal art into their work? (Danto "Defective" 591)
The comparisons portrayed in the MOMA exhibit, James Clifford
feels, were weak and created a cloud of confusion rather than any
real understanding. He is disturbed by the lack of interest in any
documentation, as if the tribal art were not worthy of it. This
causes it not to fit into any time or location and leads to
generalities. Clifford is uncomfortable with the supposed
"affinities" in the exhibition and catalog. He states that "affinity" is
a word "suggesting a deeper or more natural relationship than mere
resemblance or juxtaposition. It connotes a common quality or
essence." (Clifford "Histories" 165) There is little investigation
into the spirit or nature of tribal art. Most of the comparisons were
either aesthetic or strictly from the vantage point of the Westerner.
The comparisons were little more than fortuitous resemblances.
The only affinity Clifford sees between the tribal and the modern is
their common lack of naturalism and illusionism. He also rejects
the catchall categories of conceptual similarities that include
"magic," "ritualism," and use of "natural materials." (Predigamant
192) I think Clifford should not discount the conceptual affinities,
however vague. The impetus is more universal, an idea which
Clifford also finds unsettling. When Rubin describes Picasso's Girl
Before a Mirror, 1932, he compares it to the "mythic universals" of a

Northwest Coast Eskimo mask. Picasso's reference to the sun and

34
moon may have little to do with the reasons for the iconography

present in the mask. It disturbed Clifford that the affinities were
so specific, rather than the impulses common to inner gut-level
reactions. (Rubin "Picasso" 330)

There are only so many ideas available for the creative mind, no
matter where or when they take place. Is there anything that is
original in art? Clifford states there is a "limitation of
possibilities" in art, both aesthetically and conceptually, that are
nonconducive to establishing affinities that are meaningful.
(Predicament 191) A work may look identical to another but be
unrelated in every other way.

Kramer feels that the "German Expressionism" chapter in the

Primitivism catalog is the one well-written section that unites the
Expressionists' "life and art ideas." He objects to the lack of
emphasis placed on German Expressionism in both the exhibit and the
catalog. Kramer feels that life and ideas best define primitivism as
the greatest affinity between the tribal and the modern. The
instinctive presence found in both groups creates an affinity that, in
Kramer's view, should be the basis of the exhibit, showing the
historical progression of primitivism in modern art. This concept
more closely relates to the idea of a universal commonality.
Instead, Rubin's famous friend, Picasso, occupies most of Rubin's
attention. Picasso's stylistic affinity and his enlightening
Trocadero experience with the "magic" of tribal objects are Rubin's
primary focus. (Kramer "Conundrum" 4)

Although Yve-Alain Bois thought the tribal works aesthetically

overpowered the modern, he did agree that the show was sorely

35
lacking from the conceptual point of view. Because the objects were

displayed without contextual information, they were missing their
only true affinity. It is accurate or fair to postulate an affinity only
when both formal and conceptual similarities are evident. To
present affinities only from a formal bias causes confusion. Objects
in the exhibit placed together for conceptual comparison were also
similar in appearance. A stronger argument for the conceptual
affinity would have been examples that were formally dissimilar.
Janice Gordon's art rarely relates to the formal qualities of the
tribal traditions. The affinities are elsewhere, on a spiritual plane.

Bois thought that the one section of the exhibition that might
have succeeded in discussing the conceptual was "Contemporary
Explorations." Unfortunately, examples here again portray
superficial comparisons rather than meaningful affinities. Even
when the subject matter was similar, the reasoning process behind
the works is conspicuously absent. Whether one is comparing the
order of the universe or the spirit of aggression, the conceptual is
always harder to define and describe. Attempts to align nature and
culture left out examples from the most recent neoprimitivists that
could have established these affinities. To complete the historical
trend the exhibit should have included these modernists. (Bois
"Pensée" 187) Even if the directors of the exhibit had a negative
Opinion of the current art scene, they should have included the work
if the affinities were present.

A writer who recently tried to make these comparisons and
clarify the misconceptions about primitivism is Lynne Cooke. In

Susan Hiller's recent anthology of essays on the topic, The Myth of

36
Primitivism, Cooke may be trying to bring closure to the debate.

Cooke updates the issue of "hard" or conceptual primitivism versus
"soft" or formal. "Hard" primitivism includes the attraction to the
collective societies who communed with nature, often as a longing
for the past and a simpler, more meaningful life. The art of these
artists frequently contains signs that are symbolic but whose
meaning is lost or secret. (Cooke 140) Can we recapture what we
assume is a better life without ever being a part of it? Does the
mystery create part of the intrigue? The remoteness and
inaccessibility of these societies, both present and past, may be the
basis of their appeal. There is a desire to merge science and nature,
past and future. In the 1960's and 1970's, Earth art tried to bring
technology and nature together, and Performance art used ritual and
ceremony. (Cooke 141) The art of the 1980's found primitivism in
painting that looked like expressionism but in which the borrowed
motifs contained none of their former meanings. Artists exploited
and overused the signs to the point that they became commonplace.
Baselitz, for instance, painted with the same popular imagery but
disguised it with his upside-down format. He wished to make the
meaning irrelevant. (Cooke 145)

The "soft" primitivist artists reflected the materials of
primitivism by responding to the formal aspects of the tribal. Lucas
Samaras took a psychological approach to icons and fetish objects by
having them exist in a fictional rather than mythic state. His
objects reflect the ever-changing contemporary period, not a
ritualistic stable environment. (Cooke 149) His sculptured boxes are

kitsch examples ridiculing the truth. He, like other "soft"

37
primitivist artists of the 1980's, deals with positive and negative

associations and dichotomies. The editor, Hiller, an artist herself,
also explores the avenues of contemporary primitivism in terms of
how she can express the true female self. (Cooke 150)

Much controversy remains as to which realm tribal objects
belong to, aesthetic or conceptual. Can art be purely aesthetic?
Cultures different from one's own produce art within their own
context. We, in turn, remove it from its original context and
reinterpret it from our own vantage point. Particularly in the
absence of research and further study, there exist huge gaps in
information and understanding of art from other cultures. Each
culture views art from its own understanding, which must be
increased by providing ethnographic information about the unknown
tradition. Without supporting data, these gaps lead to assumptions
and stereotypes that are inaccurate and often detrimental. (Hiller
187)

Can these separate cultures coexist and ever understand each
other? Is there anything universal about their art? A Western view
of history is a linear progression with an emphasis on innovation.
All cultures produce art that reflects their values and their need to
survive and improve. There can never be a universal art as long as
one culture desires to overpower and dominate the other. (Araeen
168) There must be mutual respect and the will to understand and
learn from each other. Even with a willingness to accept another
culture, is it possible to relate on the same level? Are there
tendencies that are truly universal and basic to all mankind?

Although some human experiences and emotions are constant, i.e.,

38
birth, death, love, anger, fear, the way we interpret these varies

within their context. The meanings are not universal. The
physiognomic expressions of a smile, a frown, may have a limited
range, but their meanings vary from culture to culture. (Howell 224)
Art must reflect the experience of its creator who is a product of
her/his society. Along with the personalization of art experience
comes something that is universal and basic to all mankind. This is
the Spirituality of primitivism that transcends time and space.
There are too many affinities that coexist without any former
contact to allow this concept to be anything but intrinsic to
humanity.

The debate continues on the tapic of primitivism and modern
art. Western society continues to raise issues. Critics ask
questions. Art historians draw conclusions. As the next
millennium approaches, mainstream art still frustrates avant garde
artists. Artists look for ways to reflect their inner selves and
something deeper than the superficial representations of society.

Janice Gordon is a contemporary New York artist who perhaps
displays one manifestation of primitivism in today's art world. Her
art contains resemblances that are spiritual rather than aesthetic.
The following chapters will attempt to see if and how Gordon fits
the label of primitivism. I will compare her art to African art to
see where similarities exist beyond the formal. Does Janice
Gordon's work have affinities to tribal art? Are the hard and soft
primitivism similarities superficial or intentional? Where do they
come from? Is it all a composite experience that does not warrant

a label at all?

39
In the next chapter I will introduce Janice Gordon by giving a

biographical background. This will allow the reader to become
acquainted with the person and to better understand how she and her

art have evolved.

Chapter 3. Janice Gordon: How an artist evolves.

In this chapter I will discuss Janice Gordon, what she is about,
where she has been, and how and when she became an artist. I will
give background that will later serve to explain her art and how it
relates to the art of other cultures.

Janice Gordon grew up in the 1950's in the small provincial

mining town of Kellogg, Idaho. Gordon remembers the town as:

always having had a weather and time worn quality, with
deep colors of the rest of the valley being subdued by the
effluents and emissions from the mine's processing
plants. The tunnels of the mine went deep into the
surrounding mountains, so when l was growing up, I never
actually saw the major activity which supported my
family and the town. This may contribute to my interest
in having hidden chambers and secret compartments or
passageways in my work. (Letter 15 Jun 93)

Gordon's father managed the town's mine. He was an
achievement-oriented mining engineer with a hard-driving work

ethic. He is now retired. Janice thinks:

his natural bent toward a scientific rational view of the
world doesn't allow him to understand the significance
of my art, but he does recognize the importance of my
doing what I need to do according to my own standards
and he acknowledges that l have "always marched to a
different drummer." (Letter 15 Jun 93)

Gordon's mother always loved art but was not able to pursue it
as more than an avocation. She was artistic, intuitive, and
aesthetically oriented. Gordon felt her mother, who died young, was

never able to realize her own artistic potential.

40

41
Gordon's mother had a BA. degree in Home Economics and an

MA. in Child Development. She stayed home while Gordon was
young, encouraging Gordon and her friends to make art. From the
time Gordon was six years old, her mother would set up areas in the
neighborhood where the children could draw and paint. Gordon also
began to realize her artistic potential by winning art competitions
in town and at her elementary school. When Gordon went to Coeur d'
Alene high school, her mother became a professor of early childhood
development at North Idaho Community College.

Gordon's mother mainly pursued her art in the summer. The
family had a summer house on Rose Lake, a small lake outside town.
There her mother did paintings of the lake and its surroundings. Her
mother loved landscapes, whereas Gordon always preferred drawing
people. (Letter 30 Apr 93)

Gordon's mother was responsive to nature's beauty, as well as
to refined interior space. She gave Gordon an "appreciation of
visual harmony, balance, color, and beauty, along with the
realization that art and life are not separate. My mother was also
sensitive to the emotional and spiritual nuances of life."

This upper middle-class upbringing also incorporated a
religious lifestyle. Although Gordon's father was Catholic, he was
non-practicing; so her mother decided to raise Janice and her older
brother as Methodists. They were often involved in church
activities, participating in Sunday School and choir. Gordon says,
"In high school I strived to be a devoted Christian, while I chafed
against its strictures and was disturbed by Christianity's

exclusivity (how could a loving God send non-Christians to Hell?)."

42
As a child, Janice always enjoyed art. When she reached

junior high school and high school, however, she became extremely
academic. She shifted away from the creative emotional side of
herself and moved toward the intellectual world. She drove herself
to achieve. Gordon became valedictorian of her high school class
with a 3.94 GPA. She started developing character traits that
would follow her throughout her life. Organization and persistence
were and are two of her predominant traits. She muses,
"Achievement across the board only happens when you do a lot of
what you don't want to do. With a goal toward achievement, I had to
give up a lot, because I couldn't listen to my own deeper rhythms."
(Letter 15 Jun 93)

Gordon attended Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington.
There she decided to pursue literature and forego any visual art
interests, but her fascination with the arts never waned. As a
literature major, she developed a love of reading. She states,
"Words are important to me. I have always responded to literature
and in fact, many of the ideas regarding my art are inspired by the
things that I've read." The books she selects and enjoys reflect and
influence both her life and work. A few of her favorite books
include: Cry the Beloved Country and Too Late the Phalarope, by Alan
Paton, a South African writer; The Bone People, by Keri Hulme, a New
Zealand writer; An Imaginary Life, by David Malouf, an Australian
author; The Remnants of the Day, by lshiguro, a Japanese writer;
Crossing to Safety, by Wallace Stegner; and Waiting for the
Barbarians, by J.M.Coetze, a South African writer. Obviously,

Gordon's interests include many cultures.

43
Gordon's first exposure to people of other cultures was at

Whitman College. She still corresponds with one of her good friends
from Saudi Arabia whom she met there. Gordon feels that, "since
that time, I have been fascinated with other cultures. I love
different languages, foods, customs, ways of thinking. I have never
felt separate from other cultures, or that people from any other
culture are fundamentally different than I."

Along with Animal Dreams, by Beverly Kingsolver, and Louise
Nevelson, by Laurie Lisle, Gordon recently read the best seller,
Women Who Run With the Wolves, by Clarissa Estes, a Jungian
scholar. Wolves is about the archetypal woman's return to basic
instincts. Gordon strongly identifies with this book, as it appears
to closely describe her philosophy of life. The stories in this book
deal with issues of the soul. The book recounts folktales that
reveal patterns in life with psychological associations. Estés
empowers her readers and clients to reach their souls through
stories and art. She discusses the "craft of making" as in "fetish
and talisman making." Estés says, "Art is not just for oneself [it
is] also for those who follow." (15) She believes that stories are
powerful forces that "guide us about the complexities of life." (16)
The stories aid in the search to find one's inner self and instruct one
in life's daily functions. Gordon's art also tells stories for both
herself and her viewers. These stories help her work through her
own problems and act as a vehicle for others to do the same.

Gordon believes that art functions in the same way as stories:
"It is a way to get to soul issues that you can't get to in a rational,

linear fashion art provides a way to capture and touch the

44
fundamentals and unexplainable." (Interview 12 Feb 93) This belief

is consistent with Jung's idea that the visual arts, like religion,
involve the transformation of objects into symbols. (Jung Mail 96)

After two years of college, Gordon studied Italian in summer
school at the University of Washington. The following fall, she
spent her junior year abroad at Chicago's Loyola University's Rome
center. Then, after college in 1969, she married Richard Sottilaro
and spent the first few years of a fourteen-year marriage returning
to Rome with her husband. Since it was difficult to obtain a work
permit in a foreign country, Gordon did a variety of things. Having
studied Italian in college, she was able to get a job doing
translations for a Jungian psychiatrist. Rome left Gordon with
many lasting impressions. She felt connected to the sensual nature
of Italy and its ancient past. Later in her art, she would experience
a love of layering and old materials reminiscent of the weathered
buildings, flaking frescoes, and muted rich colors of Tuscany, to
which she had responded so fervently as a young woman.

After Rome, Gordon and her husband returned to the United
States. They moved to New York, where her husband did a residency
in ophthalmology at Brooklyn Eye and Ear Hospital.

The 1970's became a time of searching for Gordon. She
obtained a Masters degree in psychology at the New School for Social
Research in New York City, but the "lack of soul" in psychological
research and theory left Gordon unsatisfied, so she decided not to go
on for a doctorate. Instead, Gordon chose to do her own exploration
in the field and preferred the theories of Carl Jung to Freud. She

began to read some esoteric and Eastern philosophies, which

45
suggested viewing the world from more complex perspectives than

she had previously considered.

Gordon began her own "therapeutic journey" under the guidance
of a psychiatrist who combined the spiritual with the psychological.
She also joined a group that discussed spiritually oriented writings
centered on the divine nature of life. Gordon said, "the group
stressed the individual's responsibility to work through one's own
difficulties in order to manifest the divine nature within oneself."

Throughout this period Gordon mainly worked doing counseling
in non-profit settings and creating job re-training programs for
low-income people. She also renovated a one-hundred-fifty-year-
old brownstone that she and her husband bought. About this
experience Gordon said, "I acquired skills and developed a fondness
for working with old materials." During this time Gordon was
"working hard and learning a great deal." She reflects, "I was
striving to transform my life in both physical and spiritual/psychic
realms. I basically felt a sense of frustration with my life. I felt I
must have a calling, but I did not know what it was." (Letter 15 Jun
93)

In 1980 her mother died. At that point, Gordon got in touch
with her own mortality. To her, her mother had never seemed
fulfilled. Gordon decided she could not wait for things to happen
and must start making some decisions. Gordon began to take care of
her physical self. Within a year she quit smoking ("a destructive
act"), started cooking more interesting and healthy foods, and began

exercising.

46
By 1983 Gordon decided to completely abandon her previous

lifestyle. She left everything of value that she loved -- including
her husband, her newly renovated house and affluent lifestyle. She
left with few of her family possessions and sublet an apartment in
Manhattan. Soon the sublet was up. She could not find anything to
rent, and was confused about what to do next in her life. Gordon had
reached the bottom. She remembers 1984/1985 as "the most
difficult period of my life." She enlisted the help of therapists, but
that also proved unsuccessful. She was not getting any solutions.
Someone suggested that she go to see Grace Meyerjack, a cloistered
sister at Maryknoll Conventlsand a spiritual advisor. Even though
Gordon was not Catholic, she decided to seek her counsel. Sister

Grace told her:

Janice, I have rarely met anyone as strong and as clear as
you are. The only problem is that you don't, at the
moment, know it. You are listening too much to your
mind. You are not listening to your inner voice.

Normally, I would consider counseling you, but I don't
want to do that, because you have to find this out on your
own. What you need to do is to listen to that still, small
voice. Anything that voice says to do, you do. If you
need to sleep, you sleep. If you need to eat, you eat. If
you need to call someone, you call someone. But don't
listen to your mind at all, because your mind isn't going
to give you any solutions. If you do that, your path will
literally open up. Things will happen for you -- you just
won't believe. It will become very clear. (Interview 22
Nov 92)

That night Gordon got a telephone call from Kathi Coyle

DeAngelis, an old friend who was a painter. She said, "You know,

 

1'5The Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic from New York State were the missionaries who
were kidnapped and murdered in El Salvador on December 3, 1980.

47

 

Figure 1. Janice Gordon. 1984. Self Portrait. o/c.

Janice, I always felt like you wanted to be an artist. Why don't you
let me give you some lessons?" Gordon started painting with her
friend's guidance, and soon did a self portrait. (Figure 1) Painting
was so easy that it totally amazed her. She had very little previous

formal training in art (lessons in college and some drawing). When

48
Gordon showed me the portrait on a visit to New York, it seemed

quite accomplished. The hands particularly looked as if an advanced
painter had painted them. They were extremely expressive and
accurate.

The same week Gordon found an apartment with everything she
wanted -- a wonderful space with an overhead skylight and windows
that filled the room with Northern light. It was on the fifth floor of
a brownstone in Greenwich Village, on the block where she had been
subletting. Gordon had spent weeks looking, but everything
previously had been too expensive or undesirable. Now, she had
found the perfect space. A few years later, she was able to rent the
whole floor and have her studio in the adjoining space. It seemed to
her like a miracle, as if it were destiny.

It was now 1985 and Gordon spent the next four years studying
at the Art Students League in New York City. The first two years
she studied formal figure painting and then began to study abstract
painting and collage with the master collage artist, Leo Manso. She
committed herself full time to her art, but had to support herself by
other means. She wanted her art to be uninfluenced by any financial
need, so she took on various freelance jobs unrelated to her work,
including bookkeeping, interior design, and financial planning.

By the summer of 1988, Gordon received an internship at
Provincetown Art Museum School in Massachusetts. That summer
she experimented in monoprints, figure painting and abstract
painting. She studied under Tony Vevers, continuing her artistic

search.

49
Finally, Gordon began to feel at peace. She attributes her

contentment directly to her art. She recalls, "Painting began to
sustain me emotionally, spiritually -- I felt as if it were the first
meaningful activity I had ever made a full commitment to. I felt I
was coming home to myself. I began to feel happy for the first time
in my life." Until this time everything in her life had been a
struggle. Her efforts to overcome difficulties and strive toward
goals had been hard, ungratifying work. Since Gordon discovered art
and gave herself tO it, her life and work have been enjoyable and
fulfilling. Her earlier conflicts were worth her finally coming in
touch with her inner self.

As Gordon's art career unfolded, she came in contact with a
number of maple who influenced her art. Leo Manso at the Art
Students League became her first mentor. Gordon respected him as
an artist and found his work had a rich, beautiful elegance. In the
summer Of 1989, Gordon rented Manso's space in Greenwich Village.
The studio was barren except for a number of his collages on the
walls. Gordon spent most of the summer experimenting with
figurative and abstract painting and collage. Her work was
unsatisfying tO her, until she tried her first constructions, Amy/um

(Figure 2) and Beyond the Himalayas. Gordon reminisces:

Being in Manso's studio, I felt both inspired by his Spirit
and limited by what I thought might be his judgment. I
needed to leave Manso's studio class at the Art Students
League, because I couldn't hear my own voice above those
Of others working nearby, and especially, above the
appearance and the Opinion of Manso twice a week. Even
when l was in his studio, although I was inspired by his
spirit, I felt limited by my own fear Of his judgment. It
wasn't until I set up my own studio and removed

50

 

Figure 2. Janice Gordon. 1989. Amylum. 10 1/2x9 1/4x4 3/4".

myself from anyone else's point of view that I began to
feel comfortable and even joyous in making my own
decisions. (Letter 20 Feb 93)

Gordon continued working on her constructions in her own
studio and seemed finally to have found a medium that pulled all her

interests together. Her three dimensional works combined her

51
attraction to Old, natural materials with "certain psychological and

Spiritual concerns which could express narrative and symbolic
elements." (Letter 30 Apr 93)

In 1990 a distinquished Michigan art collector discovered
Gordon's work and bought three pieces, including one of her first
constructions, Amylum. While visiting the collector's house, the
director of the University of Michigan Museum Of Art saw Gordon's
work. He eventually visited her studio in New York and Offered her
an exhibit, which occurred in the fall of 1992. Gordon recollects,
"The reponse to the exhibit was heartening - the art seemed to
touch both knowledgeable art critics and lay people who were not
necessarily familiar with constructions or abstract art."

Along with psychology and literature, religion also plays a
significant role in influencing the life of Janice Gordon. As an adult
Gordon has not dismissed her Protestant upbringing, but has
researched and studied a number of religions, remaining for the most
part an objective Observer.

Sometimes She incorporates Chinese philosophies and religions
into her art. Because they did not develop from her culture, Gordon
feels she can listen more closely to their teachings. She can detach
herself more objectively than with Christianity, with which she has
an emotional history. She reads the I Ching, because she is drawn to
the universal spirit Of its parables. She finds it a source of
wisdom through the use of metaphor and allegory, upon which She
bases much of her art. Much like the Surrealists, Gordon
incorporates allegory and symbols by relating nature to the

Spiritual.

52
Gordon investigated a variety of approaches to religion: the

Unitarian Church, which she found too ethically oriented and the
Marble Collegiate Church.‘6 Of the psychologically oriented Marble
Collegiate church, Gordon remembers, "It was sort of like pep talks.
If you do this and that, you can change your life. I believe all that,
but I don't want to go to church to learn psychological principles. If
I'm going to go to a religious center, I am more interested in
mysticism." (Interview 22 Nov 92) Gordon is very attracted, for
instance, to the writings of the Catholic mystic and Trappist monk,
Thomas Merton. Gordon tries to find answers through her art, but
the mystery remains elusive.

Gordon recalls that Joseph Campbell at one time believed that
religion bridged the gap between mystery and the known. He
expressed the view that modern day religions have a difficult time
doing that, but art is still capable of leading us to the mystery.
Gordon reflects, "An impetus for doing my art is a longing to touch
the part of life residing beyond our reach." It is a way for her to
have ritual without dogma. Gordon is not interested in following a
formal religion. She does not wish to be part of a group that
codifies and dictates. She gets in touch with her spiritual Side and
the divine primarily through her art. Art becomes her way of
reaching beyond the mind to the unknown.

Gordon Still drives herself, but now she also listens. When

asked how her personality has evolved over the years, she answers:

 

16The church of Norman Vincent Peale, who was known for his power of positive
thinking.

53

"I'm still a 'striver', but now I know that it is enjoying
the process in life that is important, and that the goal is
secondary a naturally flowing consequence to attending
the process. I have a meditative approach toward my
work I am able to feel my own rhythms, listen for my
own voice (the still small voice within). It is the
difference between being reactive and Other-directed,
and trusting my own needs and instincts." (Letter 15 Jun
93)

Gordon is a spiritually directed person who believes that a
higher source produces great power. She listens to and receives
direction from this higher part of her soul. Her work is the vehicle
that translates the physical real world into the spiritual
unexplainable universe. Gordon uses art to heal both herself and
Others. It creates a deeper understanding of one's life and acts as
catharsis. Although her works are aesthetic, they also function on
many other levels. The metaphorical and narrative aspects of her
sculpture transport the viewer into another dimension - one S/he
could not reach by her/himself.

The next chapter discusses the present setting for Gordon's
creations and the specific outcome of this environment. A visit to
Gordon's New York studio gave me a closer look into the life,

surroundings, and work of Janice Gordon.

Chapter 4. Interpreting Janice Gordon's Work.

To fully understand Janice Gordon's art requires describing her
environment, discussing individual pieces in detail, telling what she
puts into each work, and Observing how others view her work. I
decided to schedule a trip to New York City to see Gordon in her own
environs. I planned the trip to include the opening of the new
Museum for African Art in Soho, with its first exhibit titled
Secrecy: African Art that Conceals and Reveals. The theme of the
Show coincidentally related to affinities between Gordon's works
and tribal art.

I arrived in New York late on Thursday, February 11, 1993 and
proceeded to Gordon's studio/apartment the next morning. Gordon
lives and works on 10th Street near 5th Avenue, which is part Of
Greenwich Village and a beautiful section of the city. Her
neighborhood has been designated an historical landmark area and
Gordon lives on the fifth floor of a brownstone built in 1846. We
spent the morning talking over tea. Then I walked around the studio
and living quarters taking pictures and studying the surroundings.

Gordon's living room is filled with art and objects from both
Western and non-Western cultures. There are expressionistic
paintings on the walls, an African Akuaba doll on the window sill,
Middle Eastern vases on a shelf, and brightly colored objects from
other cultures neatly arranged on a lace-covered coffee table.

The studio portion is very neat, clean, and orderly. The
natural light streams in from the skylights above and one wall of

windows. Gordon's art, both completed and in progress, is around

54

 

Figure 3. A storage unit in Janice Gordon's studio.

the walls and on Shelves. Her library fills one wall with an
interesting array of books, many on artists from a variety of
cultures. Shelves and cubicles hold antique books and many found
objects with intriguing surfaces. On the back wall is a large grid-
Iike storage cabinet (Figure 3) that could pass for one of her
artworks. It contains rustic materials that may later find their
way into her works of art. Other artifacts that closely resemble
her art sit around the shelves (Figure 4). The visual affinities are
so close that often it is difficult to distinguish which objects she
has collected and which she created. A large work table occupies
the center of the room.

The well-organized rustic space is conducive to her many

 

Figure 4. A shelf in Janice Gordon's studio.

hours of work each day . Gordon prefers the daylight hours from
8:15 to 5:30. She takes a break around 11:00 each morning to call or
visit her 98 year old neighbor, Rolf, on the first floor. Their
relationship of ten years appears to be symbiotic. They equally care
for and watch out for each other. Rolf fills Gordon in each day on
news of the world and Gordon Shares her activities with him. They
are each other's "touchstone" to the outside world. I was fortunate
enough to meet Rolf while I was there. The three of us ended up

, singing to sheet music from the thirties or forties, while Rolf
played the piano. The atmosphere was warm and nostalgic. He is a

delightful and interesting man.

57
Because I had expressed an interest in meeting some other

contemporary women artists, Gordon arranged for me to meet a
friend of hers. After lunch, Gordon and I went to visit Lenore
Tawney at her studio apartment. Tawney is 85 years old; like Rolf
She may be Old in years, but not in spirit. Tawney, well known for
her innovations in fiber art, is still a practicing artist. In the fall
of 1992 a mutual painter friend introduced Gordon to Tawney. He
brought Tawney to Gordon's studio and the two women felt an
immediate connection. Simultaneously, both had been producing
very similar constructions of boxes, collages, and assemblages.
Tawney's art uses found natural objects such as rocks, feathers,
eggs, shells, and bones. These organic objects are mystical and
magical symbols that become transformed into a spiritual realm.
They tell stories which enable the viewer to contact the soul.
These stories are to guide the viewer through the complexities of
life as a method of learning. (Mangan, 16) Throughout Tawney's
studio are many bundled hanging potions, both large and small.
These represent healing power, much like so-called fetishes and
talismans. Much of Tawney's art is secretive and hidden, i.e., the
bundle ingredients, hidden mysterious writing, and unseen
assemblages within drawers.

One Of Tawney's art works that I saw in her studio, Collage
Chest, (Figure 5) was in her Retrospective in 1990. The wooden
chest has fifty drawers. Each holds an assemblage or found object.
In order for the viewer at the exhibit to be able to see all of the art
within, the American Craft Museum commissioned a pneumatic

device that would alternately open and close the drawers. The

58

 

Figure 5. Lenore Tawney. Collage Chest.

device cost $10,000. When the show was over, Tawney could not
stand the noise the machine made, so she threw the device out.
Gordon's reaction to the whole idea of having a mechanical
apparatus was also negative. She felt a contraption would take
away from the power of the piece. There would be no more mystery.

Instead, Gordon thought that there should be more connection with

59

 

 

Figure 6. A glass shelf in Lenore Tawney's studio.

the viewer by having different drawers open each day. In that way,
the viewer would have to return to have more revealed. There would
be the immediacy of discovery. The personal interaction that takes
place between the viewer and the sculpture is an important element
in both artists' works. The two artists have many things in common

that connect both their work and their spirits.

 

Figure 7. Lenore Tawney's studio.

Even though their artwork is similar in some respects,
Tawney's studio apartment is quite different from Gordon's. To get
to her studio, you must take an elevator to the fifth floor. As the
door of the elevator opens, a beautiful glass wall (Figure 6) directly
opposite a small entryway greets you. Looking through the glass,
you see many shelves filled with small ceramics and priceless
artifacts. After you remove your Shoes, you turn to the right and
enter a temple-like space. Tawney's studio is 4,000 square feet
with varnished white floors and artwork everywhere (Figure 7).
There are her new and old pieces -- her hanging clouds and
interesting crates that house her work. During my visit she took
great delight in opening a crate constructed for her Retrospective.

 

Figure 8. A ladder from Mall in Lenore Tawney's studio.

It is a compartmentalized container that holds small boxes with
miniature assemblages inside. Each container is a new discovery.
lnterspersed throughout the studio are Tawney's art and
objects she has collected from around the world. On one wall are
her own works in progress next to a ladder from Mali (Figure 8). A
series of shelves houses neatly arranged wooden hat forms. Several
interesting contemporary art pieces from ceramic pots by Toshiko
Takaezu to Hannelore Baron's collages take up wall and floor space.

Tawney practices meditation, so her space is both inviting and
contemplative, a combination of chaos (collective work areas) and
order. The similarities between Gordon's and Tawney's studios are

apparent. They both have a love of texture, assemblage, the

62

 

Figure 9. Altar (boll), Bamana, Mali, earth, organic, 18 " h.
Collection: Gilbert Marhoefer.17

symbolic, the spiritual, and objects from other cultures.

The next day, Gordon, Tawney and I spent the entire day
together. Gordon and I first met Tawney at the Museum for African
Art in Soho. Tawney telephoned Jackie Winsor, a well-known
contemporary sculptor, to join us for the festivities marking the
opening of the museum's new location with its first exhibition,
Secrecy: African Art that Conceals and Reveals. The four of us
began our self-directed tour along with crowds of other visitors.
Winsor is not particularly drawn to African art, but her sculpture

does display a physicality of materials and her cubes contain an

 

‘7 The Museum for African Art, Secrecy: African Art That Conceals and Reveals exhibit.

 

63
energy of secretness within that has been compared to the African

or tribal arts. (Johnson 11) Winsor commented that she preferred
Paleolithic to African art. She spoke of an ancient sculpture at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art that really intrigued her. She described
it as a rhinoceros-like form, caked with mud. Inside the piece were
many gems. No sooner had she finished describing the work than we
saw a nearly identical piece in the African display. The Object was
an altar (boll) from Mali (Figure 9). To me, this was further
testimony of the ways in which affinities transcend cultures and
time. Affinities may derive solely from a universal soul.18

The mood of the museum was dramatically created by the
atmosphere of darkened rooms and warmly painted walls. We
walked around separately, taking in the beautiful examples of the
richness of African art. The exhibit illustrated the interest some
African peoples have in secrecy. In many traditional African
societies, the honor of being informed is a privilege reserved only
for the initiated or chosen few. (Biedelman 47) Westerners seem to
value the opposite -- that everyone should know everything. We
feel cheated if someone hides something from us. Much of the
actual meaning of various African objects will never be revealed

beyond their own society or even their individual owner.

 

18Like Jung's archetypes of the collective unconscious, there are patterns of behavior
that are identical to all. Two events that appear to be coincidental, may actually be
unrelated instances of the existence of archetypes. (Jung "Synchronicity" 36) Many
such incidences have occurred in writing this paper. They include the apparent
serendipity of my happening upon an artist whose work so perfectly answered the needs
of my topic, and the similarities between her work and the Secrecy exhibition and the
current (September 1993-January 1994) Face of the Gods exhibition at the Museum
for African Art. The latest exhibit Gordon noticed because it so closely ties the spiritual
aspects of African traditions to altars and art. It continues the parallels as it links the
African and African-American ritual. Gordon at once finds an affinity to this art in her
own work.

64
It was inspiring to be in the company of three successful New

York women artists. To be viewing African art with artists whose
work holds, in my mind, some affinities to the tribal made the
experience even more fitting. We stood in one of the galleries
surrounded by wonderful examples of African three-dimensional art,
discussing everything from a woman artist's survival to individual
works in the exhibit. One piece we all responded to was a nail
power (nkisi) figure, a Vili two-headed dog from Zaire (Figure 10)
that had been created by the interaction of many individual

participants. When nails are implanted in the figure, the piece

 

Figure 10. Two-headed dog, Vili, Zaire, wood, resinous mass, metal,
13 3/4 " h. Collection: Staatliches Museum fiir VOIkerkunde,
Munich.‘9

 

‘9 The Museum for African Art, Secrecy: African Art That Conceals and Reveals exhibit.

65
generates healing power, conceptually much like many of Tawney's

and Gordon's works.

Tawney took my arm and we continued to walk around the
exhibit. I remarked on how the raffia hanging down from one of the
masks reminded me of the hanging fibers of her "Cloud" series. She
remained silent but appeared to agree and to be fascinated by both
the aesthetics and the information on each piece. Gordon paired up
with Winsor and viewed works on her own. She particularly enjoyed
the mud altar (boll) from Mall. The magic and mystical character of
each piece pervaded the museum. The moving setting and the
enigmatic quality of the objects created a mood that made the
observer feel enveloped by a spiritual presence.

Later that evening, Gordon, Tawney and I went to a ritual
evening with the Mob of Angels, a group of women who conduct ritual
healing. Tawney was in the performance. She exemplified age as
she danced in with a young girl. Among the activities were
drumming, the showing of images (slides) of fertility goddesses,
readings, chanting, and the playing of instruments by the men and
women in the audience. We had brought along African rattles bought
earlier at the museum. The evening was a perfect conclusion to a
clay in which we all experienced the spiritual blending Of cultures.

This weekend was devoted to a sharing of women artists who
felt an affinity to each other through their art and spirituality. Why
was this time together so enriching? We all were able to
communicate with each other through some commonality that we
shared -- a deeper understanding of art and humanity that makes the

world a smaller place.

66
Gordon's art communicates by reaching an inner level that is

common to all and can be experienced universally. In order to more
fully explain what Gordon's art is about, I will discuss some of her
constructions in depth. In 1989 Gordon completed her first
construction, Amy/um (Figure 2).20 The art collector referred to in
Chapter 3, whose impressive collection includes both European and
African art, bought Amy/um, which he placed next to a Paul Klee
painting. Amy/um is a square wooden puzzle-like box with pieces
fitted together at right angles like a parquet floor. A removable

front panel contains a central hidden passageway. Within the inner

I .. . .. . _.- ...._.—...

 

Figure 11. Janice Gordon. 1991. Celestial Switchboard.
32x14 3/4 x 3 3/4 "

 

20 Except for Abbaya, all the works I will discuss were in the University of Michigan
exhibit entitled Recent Constructions.

67
chamber is another box, filled with scrolls. The scrolls are prayers,

paintings, and collages done by Gordon and other artist friends at
Gordon's request. In an inner box that serves as a "healing chamber,"
there are seven scrolls clipped in beeswax. The back panel is the
same as the front with the addition of the Greek letters Chi and Rho,
which mean harmony and resolution.

None of Gordon's works exist on a purely aesthetic level. They
all have many levels of meaning and involve interaction with the
viewer, both while they are being created and after. An example of
such a piece is Celestial Switchboard, 1991 (Figure 11). The
original title of this work was Palimpsest, which means a tablet
written on more than once after being erased. A hidden panel slides
out of the top of this work. While Gordon was working on this
construction in her studio, a woman visited her. The woman's
grandson had a math learning disability, and She saw this work as
the child trying to put the universe in order. Gordon wrote a prayer
with pastels on the hidden slate to the woman and her grandson, then
covered the writings with quick spontaneous painterly Strokes. The
Slate became a reservoir for private prayers and notations for
anyone who wished to use it.

Celestial Switchboard has 70 polychrome pegs on the front,
arranged in rows. Beneath the pegs are boxes of pastels to use for
writing on the removable tablet. On the back is a grid of colored
squares (made from antique book covers) that are a rearrangement of
the colors on the front. The different configuration denotes change.
The piece illustrates the idea that we desire change but cannot alter

the nature of the existing elements. Gordon reflects, "It reminded

68
me of a switchboard keying into a higher power. When people pray,

they are asking for a transformation; if the connection with a higher
power is made, something changes physically." (Pollard 7)

This work, like her others, is complex and layered. The viewer
needs to interact and participate with it in order to find new
meaning and depth. Gordon only suggests; the viewer must then
carry on her/his own investigation and interpretation. Gordon only
implants an idea. The viewer needs to respond from her/his own I,

experience. .

 

At the University of Michigan Museum of Art exhibit Recent
Constructions, a small group of about fifteen members participated L
in a discussion led by the museum's director, Bill Hennessey.

Hennessey asked questions about the works with few references to
Gordon's own statements. The interpretations and responses
provoked varied thoughts. One piece that generated much discussion
was Protect Me, 1992 (Fig.12). The window-like construction is
symmetrical with found natural objects from fish and birds hidden
in Slots invisible to the observer. Gordon's statement provided

little information about this piece, but the viewers in the group had
no trouble arriving at their own interpretations. Almost everyone
felt the central object, an armor-like torso of leather, appeared
ominous and powerful. It is uncertain whether the glass that covers
this Object is there to protect the object or the viewer. Or perhaps
it is not a figure but a shovel with ashes. Also under the glass are
symmetrically paired Objects bound together and to the central
piece. Would they leave if they could, or are they supporting the

central piece? There is a sense of being bound, an element of

69

 

 

Figure 12. Janice Gordon. 1992. Protect Me. 30x33".

restraint. Directly below the glassed-in area is an asymmetrical
group of tied wires. Are these barbed wires, cobwebs, or do they
symbolize growth and freedom in contrast to the restricted upper
portion? People seemed to relate readily to this work with a
variety of evocative emotional responses.

Another piece that generated a moving response has an
interesting story that now has a sequel. Maxims and Instructions
for the Boiler Room , 1992 (Fig.13), is an assemblage composed of
wood, antique book covers, and miscellaneous found objects. A
front pocket contains postcard collages. In a back pocket is the

narrative that follows:

7O

 

 

Figure 13. Janice Gordon. 1992. Maxims and Instructions for
the Boiler Room. 16 1/2x7 1/2x2 1/2".

My friend J.D. went on a trip around the world. She said
She needed to get away and had always wanted to travel
alone. But I got concerned when I began to receive
postcards from her - I felt that she had something on her
mind -- besides sight-seeing. She finally called me
from Suez and told me that she had rendezvoused with
someone on the trip: she wouldn't tell me anything about
him, (he was married), she thought she loved him, it was
as if he had a "patent on her heart" -- I remember those

71

words exactly. She sounded frantic - he told her that
he loved her, found her completely unique and She
satisfied something in him which no other woman had.
"Only, " she said. "Only what?" I said. There was so
much static on the line and she shouted that she would
call me when she got to Zanzibar. She never called. I
got a postcard from Zanzibar several weeks later but by
then I had called Interpol. She had vanished from her
hotel room. The police in Zanzibar eventually sent me
her possessions. I made this assemblage from some of
her things - a book she had been reading (Maxims And
Instructions For the Boiler Room), parts of postcards she
had sent me, notes from her diary. 1 still dream about
her and in the dream, she is always in the night desert,

wandering. (Recent Constragtiona)

The work was a moving memorial to her friend that left a
strong emotional impact on me as well as Others to whom I told the
story. When I viewed the piece with Gordon, she said, "I don't
always tell people this, but the story is composed of many truths,
not just one -- the story is part of the piece, not an actual
explanation of it." She had created a story composed of facts and
details from a variety of people she had known into one fictional
character. I did not know what to think. Part of me felt betrayed.
Part thought that all art is fantasy -- why is this different?

Friends to whom 1 revealed this secret had mixed reactions. I
discussed with Gordon how I and others felt. She was not sure what
she wanted to do, because now she was also doing other works
(Figure 14) as a sequel to the story. Bits and pieces of the story --
more clues to the mystery of JD. became the subject of a new

series. When Gordon included two new works based on the JD. story
in the Book, Box, Word Show, She decided to include a statement

with the now three-part series. The Statement read:

72

 

 

 

Figure 14. Janice Gordon. 1993. The Turquoise Shoe, J.D. series.

This is an ongoing story about J.D. who was traveling
around the world with a secret lover and then
disappeared in Zanzibar. The story is based on truth -
that is, it was inspired by a real woman

who traveled to Zanzibar and it is faithful to certain
realities, but not all the aspects of the narrative
conform with fact. (Letter 4 Jan 93)

73

 

Figure 15. Janice Gordon. 1991. Faith Is the Bird That Sings
in the Night. 22x29 1/2x7"

In a review of Book, Box and Word, a critic wrote of one of the
new pieces in the JD. series, The Abbaya , "There's a story here
about beauty and danger the photographs are part of the tale, but
they do not reveal very much of the mystery posed by the work. A
journal entry hidden behind one Of the photos, however, holds the key
to the story." (Kohen 17)

The mystery and narrative continue, but elements remain
secret. The Strength of the piece relies on the unsaid portions.
Gordon gives the impetus, but the viewer must follow through, in

order to discover deeper meanings below the surface.

74
Janice Gordon's works often provoke a variety of reactions

beyond their initial aesthetic impact. Sometimes a viewer connects
in a way that conjures up a deep emotion. A final example of
Gordon's art that rendered such a response is Faith Is the Bird That
Sings in the Night, 1991 (Figure 15). It is a horizontal hinged
wooden box that reveals mulberry branches and another inner small
box. When the door to the smaller box slides open, one discovers a
print of a bird. The idea behind the piece has to do with the paradox
of the night sky remaining dark even though filled with Stars.
Gordon connects this to the idea of spiritual darkness, as when a
person goes from resolution or brightness to puzzlement or mystery.
The confusion shuts out the light until the door to the inner chamber
Opens to reveal information about an experience.

While Gordon was discussing this work in a talk she gave
during the exhibition, a woman in the audience blanched as the door
concealing the bird was opened. The woman explained later that for
her, opening the door was like opening her inner chamber. It made
her recall an experience in which she had been raped as a child. She
felt someone had ripped it open and violated her soul.

For Gordon the meaning of opening the door was getting to a
"point of faith beyond despair." It touched Gordon that a viewer
could reach a different but equally powerful level of meaning. The
viewer connected to the work with a strong response that may also
have initiated the process of spiritual healing Of an experience that
formerly she had suppressed. The woman's exposure to the art may
have helped her to heal. Gordon's goal in her art is to touch people

on some inner level that is not always explicable.

75
An artist friend of mine also had an interesting response to

this exhibit. She said that while she was there, she wished she
could lie down on a bench and go to sleep. Then when she woke up,
Gordon's works would be the first things she'd see -- "a powerful
feeling." She wondered how Gordon was able to get inside her mind
and know it that well. How could there be someone so much like
herself and able to make things She wanted to make?

It is quite obvious that the art of Janice Gordon reaches people
on a number of levels beyond the aesthetic. The assemblages
function in many ways and have much to say. As in the work of
tribal cultures, even though there is a very developed and
SOphisticated aesthetic nature, the real affinities lie on another,
more conceptual Spiritual plane.

In the brochure for the Recent Constructions exhibit, the
University of Michigan Museum of Art's director William Hennessey
compares Gordon's work to other twentieth century masters of
collage and assemblage like Kurt Schwitters, Joseph Cornell, Pablo
Picasso, and Louise Nevelson. (Hennessey Ragant) Certainly, there
is a formal affinity between these masters' works and Gordon's that
is instantly visible. Beyond these visual affinities, there are
conceptual similarities to the work of such contemporary Western
artists as Tawney, Winsor, Graves, Samaras, and to the tribal arts.

In the next chapter, I will consider what these affinities might
be. Are they conscious and intentional, or are they inevitable and

unpredictable, universal impulses of humanity?

 

Chapter 5. Janice Gordon's work and other cultures: do

affinities exist?

The power of magic and healing and the merging of the physical
and Spiritual worlds are the basis of Janice Gordon's found-object
assemblages. Although there are many affinities between tribal art

and Gordon's, both conceptually and formalistically, her intent does 5”

' " I‘VJ -

not involve what has been labeled "primitivism."21

In this final chapter, I will compare specific examples of

 

Gordon's art with specific examples of the tribal. Where there are

‘._«.-a-

parallels, I will point them out and try to determine in what ways
they are related; for example, are the same influences present in
both? Are there any examples from the 1984 MOMA exhibit or other
tribal exhibits that have true affinities to the work of this
contemporary artist? Can one find affinities that are less
superficial than purely aesthetic Similarities? In my opinion, there
is a deeper affinity in all art and all humanity that exists at the
spiritual level. One experiences it but cannot always verbalize it.

I will attempt to put these feelings into words.

The exhibition entitled Secrecy: African Art that Conceals and
Reveals, held in February 1993, included many examples of African
art that Show Striking affinities to the work of Janice Gordon. The
objects in this exhibition carry hidden spiritual power, an idea
similar to that in the art of Gordon. In neither case does an art

object function only as an aesthetic object. There is a deeper

 

2‘ The label"primitivism" may prove to be overused and non-effective. I use the word
in the sense of its conceptual meaning, which appears to be less pejorative.

76

77

 

Figure 16. Memory board (lukasa), Luba, Zaire, wood, beads, metal,
13 3/8 " h. Private Collection, Washington, D.C.22

meaning and relevance to both Gordon's and tribal art -- a
significance that is basic to all human Spirit.
Of course, the visual similarities are the most obvious and

easiest to identify. I hope to take the analysis to another level that

 

22The Museum for African Art, Secrecy: African Art That Conceals and Reveals exhibit.

 

78
incorporates function, meaning, and impulse. In this instance,

"primitive" has a very positive, elemental meaning. The viewer
feels and experiences the objects rather than just viewing them.
The works become integral parts of the lives of the artist and the
participants.

Some of the objects from the Secrecy show and Janice
Gordon's art have visual affinities. An example is the formal
similarity between an African memory board (lukasa) (Figure 16)
from the Luba in Zaire (Nooter 55) and Gordon's Celestial
Switchboard (Figurel 1). The memory board is a three-dimensional
vertical wooden rectangle with pegs on either side. Colored beads
on the front of the board are reminiscent of the polychromatic pegs
on the Switchboard, but the arrangement here is more haphazard.
Like Switchboard , the backside of the memory board has a color
scheme identical to the front with the beads placed in a geometric
pattern.

The visual affinities are obvious but irrelevant, because one
needs to discover whether there are any affinities beyond the
formal. Other than the utilitarian23 function of both pieces, to
provide a continuing spiritual effect for the participant, the
meanings and purpose of the two works appear to be quite different.

As discussed in the last chapter, Switchboard is a vehicle for
prayers and healing. When a participant inserts a colored peg into
the board, s/he says a prayer. S/he can also write her/his prayers

and messages on the removable slate.

 

23 The utilitarian aspect of Gordon's work exists primarily in theory, because in
Western fine art, function is not a consideration.

79

 

Figure 17. Figure (nkisi nkondi), Kongo, Zaire, wood, metal, 33 " h.
Private Collection.24

The memory board from Zaire is not for devotional purposes,
but is used rather as a ritualistic mnemonic device. Members of the
highest level of the Luba king's court are the only ones who

understand and use it. The beads serve as reminders of certain

 

2‘iThe Museum for African Art, Secrecy: African Art That Conceals and Reveals exhibit.

8O
proverbs, lists, and sayings related to the kingship. The orderly

Side is a codification of the taboos associated with the king.

Both pieces have a sense of privacy, interaction, and
personalization. Both reorder similar elements into a more
geometrically symmetric and symbolic design. There is, however,
no real relation between the primary functions of the works.

Switchboard does relate functionally to another previously
discussed African object in the Secrecy Show, the Two-Headed Dog
(nkisr) (Figure 10) from Zaire. The Dog is a nail power figure that
stores medicines to heal the sick and maintain well-being in the
community. A nail inserted into the power figure activates the
secret ingredients that assist in healing. Another power figure
(Figure 17) in the exhibit is a nkisi nkondi. The form is human and
the figure is used in the same way. (Nooter 107) When a human
being interacts with the object by pounding in a nail, the magic
within is released and the wish or prayer is answered. How is this
any different from a Christian icon, cross, or Statue of Mary? In the
case of Switchboard and the African power figure, the participant
physically alters the inanimate object. Through multiple actions
s/he transforms the appearance and effect of the sculpture. As the
physical form changes, so does the spiritual power. When Gordon
creates an artwork that assists in healing, she instills the object
with symbolic power. It acts as a metaphor. When the African
sculptor creates an object, he also instills the piece with special

powers to serve the participant.

 

81
What about the materials used? Both Gordon and the African

artist select natural materials. Gordon says of the materials she

U585!

Antique books contain the fingerprints not only of the
hands but the minds and the spirits of the people who
sought to enter into new worlds weathered wood holds
bits of the rain and wind and snow which wore its
surfaces and perhaps, it still holds imprints of the
people who cut the wood and of course, some of the
Spirit of the tree from which it was cut. (Letter 7 Jan
92)

Gordon prefers natural organic materials to synthetic ones.
She has a special preference for animals. In Abbaya she uses
bluefish jaws. In Inshallah she hides a cat's eye (preserved by
replacing the water with Silicone) that a friend (professor of
anatomy) obtained for her from a veterinary school. Protect Me has
rodent skeletons found in owl castings. Animal body parts
fascinate her. She uses them metaphorically, to ground her to
reality. They have no specific meaning attached to them, other than
being part of nature and the power Of the universe.

Gordon uses natural materials that carry their own symbolism,
but She then empowers them by implanting them in a new context
and narrative that create new meaning. The tribal artist also uses
natural materials and implants her/his own intrinsic magic that
empowers the work. The material may have an animistic power
within that increases its innate power. When Gordon creates a
work, She has a specific Story in mind from which the work evolves.
The meaning she gives the piece does not, however, need to be the

same or even closely related to the message discovered by the

 

Ir“ -

82
viewer. The piece changes as the viewer interprets it according to

her/his own experiences. In contrast, the tribal artist may have a
specific purpose and meaning attached to the codification of the
work and its iconography that is the same for all who view it. Once
the sculpture fulfills its function, it no longer has meaning or
purpose.

Gordon is very much interested in the idea of materials being
transformed into a spiritual realm, a concept akin to that held by
tribal artists. There is an iconography with religious Significance
in both Gordon's work and tribal cultures that allows the objects to
transcend the aesthetic. While the formalistic aspects of the
works remain highly important, their content provides a deeper level
of meaning and complexity. For an object to function requires that
a viewer interact with it. The object must have a viewer to be real.
The artist implants a meaning that the viewer interprets. The
viewer then decides how to digest this meaning and how it is
relevant to her/him. The participation of the spectator provides the
culminating reason for the work's existence.

In an African nkisi, medicines composed of natural ingredients
are implanted in the sculpture. The contents produce remedies to do
such things as purge an illness or aid in childbirth. Each substance
serves a specific function or cure. The designated components
become a recipe for particular results. For instance, ground-up
crickets are diuretics, ginger is an aphrodisiac. (MacGaffey 173)
Each tradition codifies the makeup. When a client requests a
certain cure, a diviner performs a ritual and prepares a potion that

will release a spiritual force for that particular result. Much

 

83
thought and experience connect the specific medicine with the

request. The symbolic relationship is part of the tradition.
(MacGaffey 174)

While Gordon may assign a specific function to any Object,
each individual brings her/his own interpretation and meaning to
how S/he uses the objects. Sometimes the participant may not even
be aware of all the objects or ingredients within a work. Gordon is
analogous to the African specialist in the sense that she is the one
who determines the content. The main difference is that the
meanings can change with Gordon's pieces. The potions
accommodate the needs of each observer without themselves being
changed.

When comparing the Vili nkisi in the Museum fiir Volkerkunde,
Berlin to the art Of contemporary Western artists, Rubin points out
in the Primitivism catalog that the African "fetish" (a term not
always acceptable today) has communal tenets. The believers
understand the metaphoric significance. Contemporary Western art
objects more often hold personal meanings. The artist and the
observer interpret from their own experience rather than one held by
an entire group. (Rubin "Introduction" 68) These individual
interpretations are important to Gordon's pieces. She sees them as
contributing to the magical power and spiritual influence of her
works.

Gordon says of her materials, "The materials are embedded
with people's spirits and the effects of weather and age I could
never create those effects myself." (Green F2) Gordon believes that

her art is not as literal as African art. She does not believe her

 

84
materials have intrinsic power. Her art has power only because of

the meaning infused by the juxtaposition Of materials. Is this
really unlike the tribal artist who selects materials associated with
special power or magic? The tribal materials are chosen for
specific innate associations.

One of Gordon's constructions, What If It Should Fail?, 1991,
has affinities to an African Chokwe diviner's basket. Over one
hundred articles that include many objects found in nature, such as
bones, horns, honeycombs, and bird beaks fill the diviner's basket.
The diviner shakes the basket and reads the results to foretell the
future.

What If It Should Fail? also incorporates many natural
elements that are instrumental in directing the future of the
participant. Gordon describes the character of some of these

objects as:
ominous: horse hair spears, a charred mulberry
branch, gunshot, a bee's nest. The objects can
remain hidden or can be handled, exposed, rearranged
at will. There is also a pouch that contains rodent
Skeletons from an owl casting -- that portion of the
night's hunt which the owl literally casts out
because it is not nurturing to him. (Ragant

mm

These forbidding objects are counterparts to a group of mulberry
branches lying on a Shelf inside the piece. According to ancient
Chinese philosophy, mulberry shoots ensure success. When out
down, the mulberry tree grows new roots to sustain itself. A
Chinese ritual involves tying objects to mulberry branches to
protect and strengthen the participant against the dangers of the

outside world. A reading in the I Ching promoting caution and inner

85
strength gained from Confucius' parable of the mulberry tree

inspired What If It Should Fall?

In neither the diviner basket nor What If It Should Fail? does
the interaction with the objects tell the participant what to do.
The objects merely reveal possible solutions for the receiver to
perceive. Because of the universal meanings and associations
connected with the natural objects, they transmit a magical
potency, but the objects are empowered only when the viewer
participates and spiritually interacts with them.

The Primitivism exhibit at the MOMA purported to widen the
Western experience of art by including other cultures. For me, the
exhibit did little to broaden our understanding of other cultures. It
displayed numerous objects that were visually appealing to
Modernists, but failed to explain them. Instead of merely showing
similarities in various art objects supposedly derived from more
"primitive" cultures, it would seem to me more relevant to point out
that these similarities existed simultaneously. There are
innumerable affinities, both visual and conceptual, that have no
boundaries of time or location and that exist independently from one
another.

Gordon summarizes the enticement of the primitive in the

following:

The best of primitive art holds a particular emotional,
Spiritual force, which is derived from the deep beliefs of
the people who made the art (the sculpture from Africa,
the dreamings of the Australian aborigines, the masks
from New Guinea) -- all the best of this art is
particularly moving, because it stills holds the intense
intentions of its makers and its original audience. It

86

gave meaning to people's lives, and our Western
urbanized audience responds to that force an order and
meaning to the universe. Art has to do with the basic
issues of life and death and suffering and sin and
retribution and redemption and relationship --
fundamental issues that are often buried in a modern
culture which tries to divert us from these issues with
high technology and instant access to anything (except
things like wisdom which refuses instant access).
(Letter 20 Feb 93)

The art of Janice Gordon often uses natural materials as
narrative, also a frequent element in tribal art. Another Chinese
parable dealing with man's suffering caused by his self-inflicted
oppression inspired her work Benefication, 1991. Gordon States, "I
have adapted the parable and extended it, taking the man through
seven stages to a final point of redemption." Each of the seven
panels contains a collaged engraving of an abstracted drawing of a
man as he and the story evolve. The shutters at either end of the
piece hide the actual written story. The piece becomes an allegory
of man's universal fate.

Much tribal art is also narrative and symbolic. Carved wood
and ritual accumulation comprise a Yoruba Oshe Shango Staff. The
sculpture represents the story of Shango, the powerful thunder god,
and his wife, lyamode. The tale explains the transference of
universal power to the King of Oyo, a potent Yoruba mortal. He
supplicates to both Shango and lyamode. The sculpture illustrates
the codified posture and expression of lyamode, where she kneels
with her hands on her breasts - the vehicle for transmitting her
power to a human. A Shango follower would carry this staff during

a ceremony or his family would keep it as a relic. (Long 4) In tribal

87
art the narrative is supported by the visual quality, but the primary

function is content and that supersedes all else. (Long 2)

All Janice Gordon's work contains aspects of ritual, narrative
and natural materials. These are also ingredients essential to the
continuance of mankind, and they are all lacking in much of today's
society. Jung talks about the symbolic images and myths that have
survived since ancient beings. These have remained unchanged and
exist in both tribal societies and the technological world. (Jung Mar;
106) The Spiritual element has been prominent throughout the ages,
and has been a necessary vehicle for explaining the unexplainable.
Joseph Campbell discusses "the invisible plane that supports the
visible what we don't know supports what we do." These invisible
forces guide society. Campbell feels that young people today do not
know how to behave because these forces are not present in their
lives. It is the artist's role to visualize these concepts and to act
as a shaman in transmitting them. (Campbell video) The object
becomes the symbolic mediator between human beings and God. (Jung
Ma_n 96)

Affinities do exist between Janice Gordon's art and the art of
other cultures. These are evident and basic. Mankind will always
search for meaning and order. Art continues to serve as its
instrument.

Janice Gordon's work exemplifies a current stream in art that
duplicates the same practices as primitive cultures but for
different ends. Many contemporary Western artists are once again
searching to express themselves. They are seeking a means to get

back to the basics, away from the artificial and superficial art of a

88
technological era. One culture is not mimicking the other, but both

evolve from a common need to survive and understand the meaning of
life. In my opinion, if we do not pay attention to more communal
attitudes and continuation, we will ultimately self-destruct.
Cultures need to accept and Observe each other in order to become
conscious of the larger picture. They can learn to acknowledge
supernatural forces that are basic to nature and all mankind by
allowing differences in interpretation. Diverse cultures must
eventually intertwine for the endurance of man and art.

Although multiculturalism and the idea of a global society
continue to be discussed today, how closely are we really
investigating "other" peoples? It appears to me that although we
continue to examine and try to understand, we do so at arm's length.
The same thing that attracts us to different cultures also drives us
away. We want to know what they possess that appears to be
missing in our industrialized society. How could tribal people
produce such complex art? To justify our interest, we feel
obligated to at least give lip service to an inspection of the art of
different cultures. We need not be afraid to accept the "other,"
whether the motivation is curiosity, brotherly love, or expanded
knowledge. Gordon's involvement with other cultures is evident in
her work and life through her incorporation of world religions and
philosophies.

To compare Western art to the African is understandable, but
one is not necessarily derived from the other. The similarities may
be those that coexist as common impulses. As cultures overlap,

hopefully one day there will be a universal appreciation for art found

89
throughout the world. We will begin to understand and learn from

each other.

Will humans ever stop the search for ways to communicate on
a level that knows no boundaries? Is there something inherent in
all humanity that defies all explanation but continues to serve?
How does the Spiritual world direct our lives? Is there a limitation
to form that is dependent on environment and a degree Of
sophistication, or is it unlimited? Can the art of unlike cultures be
effectively compared? Is any art really primitive, or is all art
primitive? The answer may depend only on how we define the word
"primitive." People will continue to react, interpret, communicate,
and be inspired by the art of tribal peoples.

I believe that there is an instinctive universal Spirituality
that is inherent to all humanity. Unfortunately, a society based on
the rational mind does not always accept this concept. It views the
spiritual as being backward rather than advanced. If something is
unexplainable, peOple discount it rather than looking to a higher
spiritual source. Until the fast-paced technological world is
willing to slow down long enough to examine its Spiritual Side, it
will never understand its true nature or universal self. It will
always be searching for the essence of life, whether it labels it as

"primitivism" or some other less controversial term.

APPENDIX

APPENDIX

LIST OF SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

1992
Recent Constructions, University of Michigan Museum of Art. Ann
Arbor, Michigan
Book, Box, Word, North Miami Center for Contemporary Art, Miami,
Florida
HRCA at the Hammond, a juried exhibition by Hudson River
Contemporary Artists, Hammond Museum, North Salem, New York
The Book is Art, Renee Fotouhi Fine Art East, East Hampton, New
York
Nine Artists at St. Gabriel's Court, New York City
Selected Works, Esok-Lanza Fine Art, New York City

1991
Chords and Discords, Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, New York
Assemblage and Collage: 7 Artists, Stephen Haller Fine Art, New
York City
War and Peace, Center For Book Arts, New York City

1990
Altered States (3 Person Show), Stephen Haller Fine Art, New York
City
Hudson River Museum 75th Anniversary Exhibition, Sculpture Award,
Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, New York

Small Works Show, Washington Square East Gallery, New York City

90

91
1989

New York Feminist Art Institute Annual Exhibit, New York City
Goddess Festival Art Exhibit, New York Open Center, New York City

1988
Works of the Spirit, Ceres Gallery, New York City
Summer WorkshOp Exhibition, Provincetown Art Association and

Museum, Massachusetts

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